John Robertson, Waitomo mayor.
When extraordinary events put a district under pressure, the call for action falls on the local council, and the responsibility for leadership through crisis falls on the mayor.
I feel for the Mayor of Queenstown, Glyn Lewers.
This first-time mayor of a major tourism destination has been confronted with a cryptosporidium outbreak. The source of the outbreak is still unknown, but the town’s drinking water is suspected.
I feel for the mayors of regions that have been devastated by storm events.
Mayor Sandra Hazelhurst is fronting the catastrophic events that have hit the Hastings district.
In our region, first-time mayor of the Thames Coromandel district, Len Salt, is leading his council through tough times.
When crises like these hit, we all learn from them.
Central Government often sets up an inquiry as they have done with respect to the response to the 2023 North Island severe weather events.
This inquiry team visited our council last month to hear about the way we managed the state of emergency in January.
Earlier this year, our council had a debrief on the January storm events. We looked at how we can mitigate the risks that our communities face should such events recur.
Part of our response was to reinforce the need for residents to prevent stormwater from entering wastewater pipes on their properties.
We have asked residents to check that pipes down from roofs are not directed into gully traps emptying into wastewater drains. This is a “no no”.
When heavy rain occurs our wastewater network cannot cope with this additional water.
Councils also learn from extraordinary events that impact other districts. When Queenstown was hit with its cryptosporidium outbreak, my immediate reaction was to double check that our water treatment plants were “protozoal compliant” – that our treatment processes remove or inactivate cryptosporidium according to the appropriate standard. They do.
In addition to risks to infrastructure and public health, councils must manage financial risk.
Hamilton City Council received advice last week that international rating agency Standard and Poor’s has revised its long-term rating outlook to negative, reflecting the financial challenges the city has ahead.
Waitomo’s financial risk is being managed carefully.
We have moved away from being the most indebted rural council in the country per head of population, but we still have investment to make – roads through difficult country and old underground water infrastructure that needs attention.
Mitigating our risks and spending wisely remains top of mind.
