Why Mangawhai is ‘magical’

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From the Mangawhai Community Waste Water Scheme (MCWWS) Advisory Panel

What is it about Mangawhai the makes it so magical? Without a doubt it is the Mangawhai Harbour with its clear waters ideal for swimming and boating. Without it there would be no magic and Mangawhai would be just another pretty coastal New Zealand village. So imagine the impact on Mangawhai if you could not swim safely in the harbour or eat what you caught from its waters because of the level of contamination in the water.

This was the situation that faced Mangawhai and the Kaipara District Council in the late 1990s/early 2000s. It is a situation that continues to plague coastal settlements up and down New Zealand. Piha recently made the news after being issued with a public health warning amid fears that its lagoon waters were contaminated by leaking septic tanks from baches.

Testing showed contamination
The Northland Regional Council is responsible for regularly monitoring the water quality in the Mangawhai Harbour. Monitoring undertaken by the Regional Council during the period 1999 to 2002 showed that the water quality, already poor in the harbour, was getting worse. The Northland Regional Council said that immediate action was required by the Kaipara District Council to reverse the situation.

Runoff from farmland after heavy rains caused readings to spike but there was also an underlying problem. The most likely cause for the contamination, said the Northland Regional Council, was human waste oozing out of septic tanks and other sewage treatment systems and finding its way into the harbour. It was a situation that was only going to get worse as more houses were built.

In many areas in and around Mangawhai, ground conditions are not suitable for septic tanks. Some areas could cope if it were only two or three septic tanks but in most areas, development means large numbers are needed.

There are also many drains and waterways that feed into the harbour. This increases the chance of contamination from septic tanks and communal wastewater schemes findings its way into the harbour.

Long-term solution required
Immediate action was essential and responsibility for this lay with the Kaipara District Council.

Council considered a septic tank bylaw but it was agreed that a bylaw would not deal with the build-up of human waste. A more permanent and long term answer was required that supported the continuing development in and around Mangawhai.

Council spent a lot of time talking with the people of Mangawhai and together working out what was best for the harbour. A small number suggested that Council not allow any more development but this was not seen by the majority of others in the community as a workable long term answer. The most common-sense answer was a sewerage treatment system.

In 1999 a survey showed that 62 per cent of the people of Mangawhai who responded believed a wastewater scheme was needed to protect the harbour and in May 2000 the Council agreed to go ahead with a wastewater scheme.

Current wastewater scheme effective
Regardless of the on-going debate about how the wastewater project was managed and the final cost of the scheme, no-one can say it hasn’t operated effectively since it went into operation. Off-peak the plant processes between 1,700,000 and 2,400,000 litres a week. This is the equivalent of filling the Mangawhai Beach School pool 26-36 times over. During peak use the plant can process as much as 6,200,000 litres a week. This would fill the school pool 95 times over. That is a lot of wastewater that will not find its way into the harbour.

Despite what some people might tell you, the wastewater scheme can cope with many more connections that it currently does. To protect the water quality of the harbour and keep Mangawhai a magical place to work, rest and play, it makes sense to connect as many properties as possible to the scheme.

Our aim is to keep the harbour clean and Mangawhai magical.