Consent for the Porirua Treatment Plant to discharge sewage into the sea
Submissions close on the 30th June. The Resource Consent is supposed to protect our environment instead - this application is:
A license to pollute.
Proposes a higher flow with higher contamination allowance.
Poorly written and lacks specific accountability to measure, record, report and mitigate.
Mis-leading when major upgrades to treat increasing flows to the plant continue to be deferred.
If you would like to make a submission online: here is the link:
haveyoursay.gw.govt.nz...
Please send your online submission to Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) Notifications@gw.govt.nz (on form) and also email a copy to: Richard.peterson@stantec.com who is acting agent for Wellington Water, on behalf of Porirua City Council (permit holder/applicant).
We will still get extreme rain (more events with global warming), the system will overflow in Porirua and the network remediation will take years. There will be leaks, the faecal count will still fluctuate to high on the beach, and the signs will still say "not safe to swim'. There will be Council and Wellington Water excuses, and the fines for discharges will be paid by ratepayers.
Reasons for decline of consent based on Application WGN200229: Discharge to Coastal Marine Area:
1. OLD PLANT: Porirua Treatment plant has a lengthy history of non-compliance for poor quality discharge, often noticeable, with a visible slick or plume that floats into Titahi Bay.
2. POOR DATA: Upgrades to improve quality of discharge and accommodate population growth in the catchment continue to be deferred, and population forecast significantly under-estimated, approx. 140,000 in 2043 not approx. 121,000.
3. POOR REPORTS. Jacob Engineer’s and eCoast Marine Consulting and Research independent reviews say application and proposed conditions in some areas are ambiguous and lacks sufficient data and policies to validate some statements and assumptions.
4. NO REAL MONITORING: There are no GPS locations given for any sampling and monitoring sites.
5. POOR ANALYSIS: Using annualised calculations, dilutes the data.
6. POOR CONTROL: Continuously monitoring flow to the plant when flow meters are often broken is not accurate monitoring.
7. MORE POO: Porirua has 4 times less the flow of Moa point Plant and wants 5 times more contamination.
8. POOR DATA RECORDING: The ambiguity of wording makes it possible that Porirua treatment plant will begin sampling 24 hours after the discharge. That is two tidal flows and a diluted reading.
9. POOR PROCESS: The proposed Ecological, Monitoring and Technical reviews do not recognise the Resource Management Act requirement for cultural assessment.
10. THEY CAN CHANGE IT ANYHOW: Section 128 allows the Council and Wellington Water to amend or delete any condition possibly 12 months of start of permit and then every 5 years thereafter.
So please have your say!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62% Summer
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36.5% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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