Wanganui Civil Defence thanks all the agencies and individuals who have assisted, and are still assisting, following last month's storm.

The storm has had a devastating effect on the Wanganui District. The extent of the damage is far beyond anything we have previously experienced in our District and it will take a long time to recover from the impact of the storm.

Many people have been working extremely hard to restore services and look after the welfare of people affected. Civil Defence acknowledges the outstanding contribution made by a wide range of organisations and volunteers and thanks you all for your efforts.

Some of the impact on roads and properties is shown in the photographs. Contractors are working on many roads throughout the District and we still trying to assess the full extent of the damage to the roading network. Most roads in the rural area have been affected and there are some major infrastructural problems. A number of roads are not yet reopened and at present the priority is gaining road access for all residents.

Wanganui Civil Defence will have a recovery team operating for some time to deal with welfare, infrastructure, rural, economic and property issues. If you have concerns or need assistance, please contact us via the Wanganui District Council, phone 349 0001.

At Your Service - Wastewater

The Council provides a wastewater service to maintain a 'clean' environment by disposing of sewage and stormwater.

Sewage pipes throughout the urban area connect properties at the boundary. Collected sewage is pre-treated and discharged to sea through the ocean outfall. Industrial premises are serviced through a controlled discharge regime. Separate rural schemes are operated at Marybank and Mowhanau.

Stormwater pipes connect to some properties but many still discharge through the sewerage system. This is no longer acceptable and property owners are being advised (suburb by suburb) that they need alternative disposal for their stormwater, such as soakage, separate connection to the stormwater system or other methods. The stormwater system also drains the road surface. Clean stormwater is discharged to the river or streams.

Services provided

Urban

1. Pipe locations on request within three working days.
2. Sewage and stormwater connection pipes are provided to property boundaries from the street.
3. The service is available to all connected properties 99 percent of the time.
4. Residential properties (except for those in restricted services zones) can discharge an unlimited volume of sewage and stormwater.
5. Sewage is kept out of the river 96 percent of the time.
6. Stormwater volume is limited to varying capacity of pipes and road surface but is designed to minimise significant nuisance.
7. Industrial sewage is collected to trade wastes bylaw standard.

Rural

1. As for urban, for sewage only.

Complaints/enquiries about service breakdown are responded to within four hours.
Urgent surcharges will be responded to within one hour.
New connections are installed within eight working days of acceptance of quotation.

The service is monitored by a Department of Health audit and through the discharge consent conditions/wastewater scheme milestones.

Sewage: Residential consumers pay an average of $176 per year. Mowhanau users pay $318 and Marybank users pay $370 per year for connected properties.
Stormwater: Urban ratepayers pay $22.67 per year for each $10,000 of capital value.

Further information is available from Wanganui Water Services, phone 349 0510, email Water Services.

Information about all of the Council's services is available in the At Your Service booklet available from Customer Services and the District Library, and on the Services pages of this site.

March 6: MZCSF Manawatu-Wanganui AGM and Voice Production Workshop
Venue: St Stephen's Church Hall, Maunder Street, Marton. 10am-4pm.

March 6: Rivercity Markets
Venue: Wanganui Racecourse. 8am-1pm.

March 6-7: Rotary Conference 9904 District

March 7: Whanganui River Raft Race
The 2004 Raft Race has been cancelled.

March 7: Art 'n' Park
Venue: Kowhai Park, adjacent to Wanganui Motor Boat Club. 1pm. Children up to 13 years are invited to explore their artistic talents for a gold coin entry fee. Paint, paper, brushes etc supplied.

March 7-11: Sea Week
Organised by Department of Conservation. Theme "Our angling marine life - Let's protect it!"

Throughout March:
A wide range of exhibitions at the Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui Regional Museum and other galleries.

More information about things to do in the Wanganui District is available from the i-SITE Wanganui Visitor Centre, 101 Guyton Street.

What's New on the web?

Recent additions to our web site include:

Civil Defence - Photos of the February 2004 storm damage are now available on the site. The major focus is on damage to the roading network.

District Plan and Maps - Now that the Wanganui District Plan is operative, the plan and accompanying maps on our web site have been updated.

Community Outcomes (PDF format, 14KB) - The desired community outcomes for Wanganui and priorities for achieving them. These outcomes are the result of extensive community meetings last year to determine what residents want for Wanganui's future.

Unless otherwise noted meetings are held at 2.00pm in Committee Room 2, 1st Floor, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui.

Agendas are available at the Customer Services Counter, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui, and the Wanganui District Library two working days prior to the meeting.

The Council welcomes members of the public to attend its meetings.