Helensville and Parakai are communities on the Kaipara River, about 40 kilometres northwest of Auckland and located within the Rodney Local Board area. Currently, the communities have a population of around 5,000 residents. By 2050, the communities are expected to have a population of around 6,500 people.
We provide water supply and wastewater (sewage) services for Helensville and Parakai. Water supply infrastructure enable us to collect, store, treat and distribute drinking water to homes, businesses and public facilities. Wastewater infrastructure enables us to collect wastewater and treat it for safe discharge into the environment.
We have been meeting with community members to discuss the future infrastructure needs of the area. Careful planning for growth will be important to the wellbeing of the environment and the health and prosperity of communities. When we consider future demand for water and wastewater services as part of the servicing strategy, it will be important to think about not just the next 25 years of growth, but also about providing long-term sustainable services for at least the next 70 years. That’s because assets like dams, pipelines, pumps and treatment plants are built to last and operate effectively for the long term. We need to have robust and useful discussions with people about the future they want and are willing to pay for.
The servicing strategy is a living document that sets out the long-term plan to ensure we continue to provide safe and reliable water and wastewater services. We have created this strategy to provide a basis for a constructive conversation about planning for longer-term water and wastewater solutions in Helensville and Parakai. There are many trade-offs to consider, but with transparent information written in a way that everyone can access, we have the best chance to make good investment decisions to support the community and protect the environment. As it is refined and developed over time, the document will help guide where we invest to ensure our network continues to operate reliably and protect the environment as the community and the climate changes.
We have attempted to write this strategy in a way that means everyone can understand the complex water and wastewater issues that we jointly face in Helensville and Parakai, and our approach to addressing them. We also want to receive feedback from you on whether this is a sound strategy, if there are better ideas, and anything we may have missed. This strategy will prepare us and your communities for the complex conversations we need to have about water and wastewater services. We are committed to transparency and accountability. We are happy to be challenged and encourage you to share your ideas for improvement.
We will review the feedback in March. If you would like us to respond to your feedback, please leave your contact details at the end of the form.
Contact us at [email protected]
Let's work together to build an awesome future for Helensville and Parakai.
