4

4

Unable to be in more than one place at once as the head of an efficient governing body, popular Palmerston North City mayor Jono Naylor (left) is nonetheless sympathetic when it comes to Tokomaru’s water problems; at the same time taking into account the HDC’S present financial difficulties. Feasibility and financial issues have to be worked through before giving the final nod to piping water from Linton along

highway 57 to Tokomaru Village. But it wasn’t an outright ‘no’ when Christine Toms visited the main man in his office on 9 July. In stark contrast to the HDC’s rattled responses, mayor Naylor had done his homework regarding the possibility of extending the pipeline to a kilometre within Horowhenua’s boundary. In a previous email, mayor Duffy said he was upset that Tokomaru residents had “taken (the water issue) out of the District” in publishing its water woes. But it was later disclosed that Mr Duffy had already visited mayor Naylor in PN Central for talks about Tokomaru’s water crisis and other issues. On the subject of absorbing Tokomaru into the Palmerston North region, mayor Naylor was less enthusiastic. Recent additions Bunnythorpe and Ashhurst boosted strategic value in zoned industrial land for Palmerston North, which wouldn’t apply to the small border settlement of Tokomaru. Putting it bluntly, mayor Naylor said the Village had nothing of particular interest to the 85,000-people city. But that did not exclude Tokomaru from further discussions regarding drinking water supply. “We believe it’s necessary for the people of Tokomaru to have good quality drinking water and we’d be happy to look at providing that social need, if we can,” he says. Funding may need to come from Central Government for Tokomaru’s compliant water. But this must happen soon to prevent a local boil-water disgrace becoming a medical catastrophe. Sign the petition, choose your candidates well and vote in the upcoming HDC election. Above all, know that good quality water is a New Zealand right and not just a luxury for the few. It’s not all gloom: Got a good story to tell? Let us know your news, views and upcoming events. Nominations close on 16 August for voting in the next local government and District Health Board elections 20 Sept to 12 Oct. We hope to publish meet-the-candidates events in the coming weeks. Voting means you have a say, whatever the outcome.

PN mayor looks at Tokomaru supply

Tokomaru Store & Takeaways Orders welcome. Ph 329 8711

Steamed Up is a free monthly independent newsletter for the Tokomaru Village community. Our aim is to inform the public

about electoral issues and other concerns regarding the Horowhenua District. Contact: Christine.toms@xtra.co.nz. Ph 329 8081

Most five-year-old kids hope that when they spill something down their T-shirt it will wash off. But in the final countdown to local elections, it’s becoming clear that the indelible marks left behind by the Horowhenua District Council over arrogant and dismissive handling of Tokomaru’s town drinking water won’t ever wear off. At the RSA meeting on 4 June, the community’s main priority was compliant drinking water. This followed the HDC’s abandonment of the promised joint-Shannon upgrade currently under way, leaving Tokomaru to boil drinking/cooking water until 2025! Trying to redress this major upheaval in Tokomaru residents’ lives would be farcical, if it wasn’t so serious. A similar emergency boil water notice was thrown at Shannon and Tokomaru three years ago — two years, 11 months and three weeks longer than such emergency measures will work, say Civil Defence. But the presence of Protozoa (giardia and cryptosporidium) and ‘above 50% health safety threshold’ Dichloroacetate and Trichloroacetate levels are sufficient for national testing agency ESR ChCh to issue E and D grade warnings for Tokomaru’s now permanently non compliant drinking water. While other areas in the Horowhenua have E and D grade water, none have boil water notifications for the next decade or so. Unable to figure out why the HDC has placed a 10-year three-minute rolling boil water (now until 2025) notice for Tokomaru’s town supply, ESR HOD Barry Mattingly said: “That doesn’t make sense. You don’t issue a boil water notice if you’re chlorinating the water!” All overtures to mayor Brendan Duffy and the HDC have been met with the characteristic stand-off; in spite of declarations on the HDC’s website to “immediately remediate all non compliant water.” Meanwhile, a petition held at the Tokomaru Store has been signed by over half the 140 homes in the Village. Signatories call on Prime Minister John Key and the Ministers of Health and Local Government to immediately address our water supply dilemma. Tokomaru residents thank reporter Kelsey Fletcher at the Manawatu Standard, editor Richard Mays of The Tribune and other newspapers for excellent media coverage. Thanks also to Shirrell and Mike Davis at Tokomaru Store for their continued help. Sign the petition before it’s presented to Parliament. Call into the Store and be counted.

Steamed Up July 2013 Issue 1

Rebecca Louth

Council problems not water soluble

Featuring Tokomaru Village news and views

2

2

Continued from page 1. Bore-dom? While most of the Village is on town drinking supply, rural residents have their own private and unlimited clean water from bores which permeate Tokomaru, “There’s a bit of discolouration on the tea cups from time to time due to the iron content, but other-wise the water’s fine,” says Esma Stevenson. Tokomaru School shares the same bore with the Stevensons, Tokomaru Store and an adjacent property. Boiling water for 60 school children every day would be a nightmare. Principal Jared Ratana says bore water is used for the swimming pool, otherwise they’re on allegedly ‘safe’ town supply. “I bring water from home in Palmerston North and the kids bring their own water bottles,” he says. Another bore sited in Rata Street caused a few problems when the road was sealed, but water there is still as good as ever. Water filters: At the 4 June meeting mayor Duffy immediately turned down water filters for Tokomaru homes, saying they would cost $2,000 each. However, the HDC recently made moves to install a single water filter on one of the drinking fountains in the playground and there are plans to include another single filter at the Early Childhood Centre. There was no response to suggestions that Villagers could line up and fill their containers from filtered water from either of these two places. Reasonably priced filters are still under private investigation. Where does Tokomaru town supply drinking water come from? Direct from Horseshoe Bend River. This in turn comes from Shannon dam tributaries, behind which forestry felling is taking place. In 2004 the HDC and Downer installed treatment facilities including intermittent chlorination. However, according to a Risk Management Plan, all health contingencies in Tokomaru water are at best “limited.” The Council’s greatest real fear, while refusing point blank to address non compliant water, is an outbreak of illness in the community and subsequent bad publicity! What’s wrong with the water? Nothing, as long as you don’t drink and cook with it! Protozoa-containing waterborne diseases such as giardia and cryptosporidium produce in some cases severe intestinal upsets and require urgent medical attention. Cryptosporidium can also be transmitted through human contact, i.e. you or your child can catch ‘crypto’ from another person who has been involved in contaminated water. While the young and not-so-young and people with chronic illnesses are more vulnerable, dogs are also susceptible to crypto. Dichloroacetate and Trichloroacetate are chemical contaminations winning ESR P2 ratings in our water. Thought to be due to chlorination combined with ‘sludge,’ i.e. plant and animal material, DCA/TCA in Tokomaru’s water supply can be caused by tannins from forestry felling. ESR Jackie Ritchie told Christine Toms that these levels “are over the 50% health safety threshold.” Excessive DCA and TCA levels are known to cause liver cancer and neurological effects in laboratory tests. Mid Central Health Protection Unit, paid to impel local authorities to remediate bad water, advises that due to a ’loop hole’ the HDC can get away with doing nothing for Tokomaru. “We can do nothing,” says manager Peter Wood.

3

3

Then who can? From a lack of funding to a recent ‘deprivation clause,’ the response from Council to Tokomaru Village’s abandoned water upgrade is “get lost.” Sky’s the limit in Manhattan table: Since she discovered the HDC is ranked 66 out of 67 in Larry Mitchell's League Tables for financial sustainability, mayoralty candidate and three-terms Kere Kere Councillor Anne Hunt has – among other things – been working on a comprehensive recovery plan, based on her research on local government. “They totted up the costs of $140m to repair water and waste water in the District and threw their hands up in horror! To look good on the books, mayor Duffy and the Council drew up a Manhattan (bar) table and spread these costs over 20 years” says Anne. Tokomaru’s water crisis was thus thrown into this too-hard basket. Her strengths in infrastructure, finance, governance and legal comprehension make Anne the only mayoralty-hopeful in Horowhenua’s struggle to repay $36m debt. “It shouldn’t have happened! The Horowhenua is a good mix of urban and rural areas and we’re by no means the smallest region. In 2004 we were almost debt-free, but we’re now in so much debt because of bad choices.” The former journalist, writer and mother with extensive experience in local government doesn’t suffer fools gladly when it comes to bad decisions affecting other people’s lives. As a result of blow-outs and mismanagement, she says rates could sky-rocket seriously impacting residents and potentially send some small businesses to the wall. A lack of consultation, unapproved consents and favouritism have further diluted Horowhenua’s credibility. An unhealthy climate of secret meetings and decreasing transparency have crept into negotiations throughout the region, including Tokomaru. Nobody says it will be easy, but Anne says she has evolved a strategy to help work the District out of the mess. A strong supporter of Sam Probert, Anne turned up to witness the shameful act of the elderly disabled man evicted from his Council flat by six policemen on the HDC’s behalf, for refusing to pay the unreasonably hiked rent. Keen to see closer co-operation between HDC councillors and valued staff, Anne is looking forward to assembling a proactive team with enthusiastic committees who want to spend their energies on working well together. “People who compliment each other’s strengths for the good of the communities they are paid to represent. The only fights in Council from here on in should be battling our way out of crippling debt and negativity.”

Anne Hunt

IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE! Water, infrastructure, business development, financial security, education, recreation, community excellence are only a pen-stroke away.

Vote Anne Hunt for Mayor 20 Sept to 12 Oct