Draft Long Term Plan - Key Issue 3: Stormwater

Proposed change in rating for stormwater and drainage activities

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Stormwater and drainage assets in the district comprise a mix of private and Council-managed assets. For rating purposes, stormwater and drainage assets exclude those in the roading corridor, as many of these are managed in conjunction with roading activities.

Current situation

Council-managed stormwater and drainage activities are currently funded by a mix of rates, debt and development contributions. There are separate targeted stormwater rates (fixed charges) for each of the following: South Ward properties, Hanmer Springs, Cheviot township, Motunau Beach township, Hawarden township and Waikari township. There is also a District Urban stormwater rate of $24.45, which is charged to each urban property in the district. In addition, rates are collected from rating units close to the Jed River drainage system, and these vary based on location.

Other than the South Ward, the stormwater rates payable by rural properties are limited to a small, fixed charge.

Issues

Following regulatory changes, the Council is required to hold a discharge consent for its urban areas. Accordingly, the Council has applied for a global discharge consent for the discharge of stormwater for 13 urban areas: Amberley Beach, Cheviot, Culverden, Gore Bay, Greta Valley, Hawarden, Leithfield, Leithfield Beach, Motunau Beach, Rotherham, Waiau, Waikari and Waipara. It is expected that the consent will be issued subject to conditions relating to monitoring and, potentially, treatment, both of which would add to the cost of stormwater activities for these areas. It would be cost effective for consent-related tasks relating to the 13 urban areas to be carried out in a cohesive manner.

The current rating system is inequitable because most rural rating units benefit from stormwater activities, but the majority pay no stormwater rates.

Ways in which rural rating units benefit from stormwater networks include:

• Some stormwater originates in upstream catchment areas which include rural land. Hence, some rural rating units contribute to the need for this activity;
• urban stormwater services help reduce adverse downstream impacts which might otherwise affect both urban and rural land. Hence some rural rating units benefit from this activity;
• most rural residents either visit urban areas intermittently and/or benefit from goods and services provided by businesses in the district’s urban areas; and
• while almost all stormwater activity is carried out in urban areas, limited drainage activities are carried out in some rural areas.

Nevertheless, it is not proposed to have a single targeted stormwater and drainage rate for the whole district because the level of service received by rural rating units is lower than for urban areas. For example, the clearing of most rural drains is the responsibility of the adjacent landowners.

OPTION 1:

Urban rating units contribute 90% of the rating requirement for the stormwater and drainage activity while rural rating units contribute the remaining 10% of the rating requirement for this activity.

All urban rating units pay the same fixed charge irrespective of location, and all rural rating units pay the same fixed charge irrespective of location.

OPTION 2:

Levy separate fixed charges for rating units in each of:

• Amberley urban
• Hanmer Springs urban
• Other urban areas in the district covered by a global discharge consent

Under this option, most rural rating units would continue to pay no stormwater rates.

OPTION 3:

Urban rating units are levied a single fixed charge which funds 100% of the rating requirement for stormwater and drainage activity.

OPTION 4:

Status quo. The existing targeted rates would continue to apply.