The February 2010 Bulletin encompasses the following topics:
Dudding Lake
Taihape Town Hall
Elections
Septic Tanks
Conserving Water
Dudding Lake
At its February meeting, Council agreed to a request made by a group from the Marton Lions Club, to allow the infrastructure (eg house, power sites) to remain at Dudding Lake for one further month. The group from the Lions Club spoke at the Council meeting, and felt that, given an extra month, they would be able to prepare a proposal for management of the lake that would be more cost effective than the Council decision made last year. Councillors spent some time debating the matter, but in the end agreed to give the Lions group an opportunity to develop their proposal. This proposal must come back to Council at its March 25 meeting, and if it is not acceptable to Council, removal of the infrastructure will be actioned immediately.
Taihape Town Hall
The Taihape Town Hall will soon be the recipient of a fresh coat of paint, and yes! It will be the same colours. Painting is due to start soon, so please take care around the scaffolding and painters.
Elections
Local body elections take place later this year – this is your chance to make a change. To make sure you are registered on the Electoral Roll, or to enrol go to www.elections.org.nz. Information will be available later in the year if you are interested in running for Council or being involved in your local Community Board.
Septic Tanks
Increasing environmental and central government expectations mean that in relation to septic tanks, what was acceptable 20 years ago may not be appropriate now. The Rangitikei district is predominately rural, and many people have septic tanks for their waste. While these properties do not pay rates for connections to Council’s sewage treatment plants, there are costs involved in septic tank installation, maintenance and upgrades. A new, compliant system can cost between $15,000 to $20,000 depending on circumstances of your site.
In an effort to reduce the need for early replacement or upgrades, some points are listed below:
- Make sure your effluent field does not become damaged and clogged.
- Keep traffic (people, animals and vehicles) off it.
- Ensure that it is emptied before the solids move from the tank into the effluent field.
- Be careful of what you put down the toilet/sinks. With septic tanks, ‘bugs’ are your friends, breaking down the waste and reducing odours. Pouring disinfectants, bleaches and cleaners down the drains can kill the ‘bugs’, reducing the effectiveness of the system.
Conserving water
Did you know that a house with three occupants flushes 165 litres of water per day down the toilet – over 60,000 litres per year, or two thirds of an Olympic sized swimming pool!
Some ways to save water in the bathroom are:
- Install a modern dual-flush adaptor – a single flush toilet uses 11 litres of water, a dual flush will reduce this to around five litres.
- Install a flush saver device – this is a small weight that fits inside the cistern to reduce the volume of water. You can also do the same thing with a 1.5l plastic bottle filled with water – just be sure to place it clear of any moving parts.
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving– this can save up to 56 litres per day.
- Install tap aerators – aerators cut the flow of water from your tap by 50% without reducing water pressure.
- Take shorter showers – use a kitchen timer to help you spend less time in the shower
- Make sure your hot water system thermostat is not set too high – you could be tempted to add cold water if your water is too high, using twice the amount of water.
