NZ Local Government 1807 by Contrafed Publishing

NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE VOL 55 • JULY 2018 • $8.95

The future of water THE DEBATE CONTINUES p16

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IN THIS ISSUE NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN THIS ISSUE REGULARS 4 Editor’s Letter 5 In Brief 12 Events: Stormwater 2018 14 Events: Water Summit 2018 47 LGNZ

COLUMNISTS 44 Frana Divich: On Legal Issues 45 Peter Silcock: From Civil Contractors New Zealand 46 Dave Cull: From LGNZ

REPORTS

16 T HE FUTURE OF WATER: THE DEBATE CONTINUES At Water Summit 2018: attended by local government delegates, industry experts and central government officials who will be implementing regulatory water change. 22 M ORE THAN JUST A SMELLY PROBLEM Water New Zealand’s submission to the Productivity Commission on managing wastewater treatment plant emissions.

24 B IOPHILIC DESIGN How a project in Dunsborough, Western Australia, is using biophilic design to integrate water-sensitive design with land development. 27 R EPRESENTATION REVIEWS The second in a series of three articles by Gavin Beattie of the Local Government Commission. 28 L EADERSHIP What kind of qualities do leaders need in an era of sea level rise? 30 PAHIATUA PHOTOGRAPH PRESERVATION PROJECT Tararua District Council’s project to preserve Pahiatua’s past may not have had the wow factor that wins big awards, but it did win the hearts of local people. 33 M ODELLING ASSETS Tasman District Council’s roading asset deterioration modelling. 42 T ECHNICAL BRIEFINGS Continuous Simulation Modelling to Support Healthy Waterways: Awardwinning paper at Stormwater 2018. By Jahangir Islam (AECOM), Josh Irvine (WSP Opus), Nick Brown and Nadia Nitsche (both from Auckland Council).

SPECIAL FEATURES 36 Smart solutions: Flood management 40 Smart solutions: Digital engagement

ON THE COVER. THE FUTURE OF WATER: THE DEBATE CONTINUES: At Water Summit 2018. See page 16. JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EDITOR’S LETTER NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER Contrafed Publishing Co. Ltd, Suite 2.1, 93 Dominion Rd, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024 PO Box 112 357, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Phone: 09 636 5715, www.localgovernmentmag.co.nz

Water, water everywhere Never before have we devoted so much coverage in one edition of NZ Local Government Magazine to just one topic. In fairness, it’s a tangle of topics but they all centre around just one word – water. That water is an important topic for local government is a supreme understatement. Furthermore, as LGNZ’s just-released Water 2050: Quality discussion paper notes, when talking about water, there has to be some ultimate resolution around associated big-ticket topics such as allocation, quality, infrastructure, governance, and the perennial problem of costs or funding. All power to LGNZ who has been chipping away at defining the underlying issues for local authorities for some time now. Back in September 2015, then LGNZ president Lawrence Yule wrote that, four years earlier, the National Infrastructure Plan had given our country’s water infrastructure the lowest ranking of all of the infrastructure sectors. That included measures of investment analysis, resilience, funding mechanisms, accountability, performance and regulation. “At the time, however,” he wrote, “it was acknowledged that the level of information on the state of water infrastructure and management that gave rise to that assessment was sparse and that improvements in the information base were needed.” Too right. It’s hard to work out what to do with some of our nation’s largest, most important, assets if you’re not sure what state they’re in. The local government sector has come a long way since then in rectifying that lack of information. We

can now have a much more informed debate on which existing assets could best be replaced or renewed, for example, and councils had been gearing up to talk with stakeholders on the dollars required to meet rising standards and increasing expectations around water. Some parts of that conversation may be put on hold if a mooted new dedicated water supplier sweeps in and takes over councils’ water responsibilities. That idea is just one of many now under discussion. To mix our metaphors: the water sector sits at a crossroad. All of that, and more, was the topic of the recent two-day Water Summit 2018 in Wellington. (See our article on page 16.) We’ve rounded that out with numerous other water-related articles in this issue. There’s a summary of Water New Zealand’s submission to the Productivity Commission on managing wastewater treatment plant emissions (see page 22) and an examination of biophilic design in Dunsborough, Western Australia (page 24). There’s even a think-piece on the kind of qualities leaders will need in an era of sea level rise – plus some justification for the idea that sea levels may be rising (page 28). There’s a special feature on flood management (page 36) and a synopsis of the awardwinning “best paper” from the recent Stormwater Conference in Queenstown (page 42). While the big debates remain to be resolved, the drive for best-practice water projects and technologies continues.

Ruth Le Pla, editor, ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

EDITOR Ruth Le Pla Mobile: 021.266.3978 ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz SALES CONSULTANT Charles Fairbairn DDI: 09 636 5724 Mobile: 021 411 890 charles@contrafed.co.nz ADMINISTRATION/SUBSCRIPTIONS admin@contrafed.co.nz DDI: 09 636 5715 PRODUCTION Design: Jonathan Whittaker studio@contrafed.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Gavin Beattie, Nick Brown, Dave Cull, Frana Divich, David Hammond, Josh Irvine, Jahangir Islam, Joy Kopa, Patricia Moore, Nadia Nitsche, Brendan Oversby, Peter Silcock, Lesley Smith, Alan Titchall GENERAL MANAGER David Penny DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021.190.4078 david@contrafed.co.nz EDITORIAL MANAGER Alan Titchall DDI: 09 636 5712 Mobile: 027.405.0338 alan@contrafed.co.nz CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME Please contact the editor before sending them in. Articles in Local Government Magazine are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. DISCLAIMER Local Government Magazine is an independent publication owned and produced by Contrafed Publishing. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of any of its shareholding organisations.

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IN BRIEF

Guide provides electric vehicle pointers A new guide to help local authorities make their communities more friendly to electric vehicles (EVs) will be released next month. Driving a Low Emissions Economy summarises the environmental, social and economic case for EVs, provides advice on operational and long-term planning, and outlines practical steps councils can take to help our country transition to a low emissions economy. The guide is produced by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) as part of the government’s information campaign to accelerate the uptake of EVs. “Transforming our fleet to run on electricity is one of the most effective ways for cities and towns to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says EECA CE Andrew Caseley. “Local authorities around the country have stated their determination to play their part. We want to provide practical, informed advice to help them get things moving.” Transport is responsible for about 18 percent of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions each year (45 percent of energy-related emissions). The guide suggests a range of approaches local authorities can take, from policy to promotion. Long-term and annual plans provide an opportunity to consider how EVs can support goals related to the environment, air quality and economic development. Other areas covered include how to transition your fleet to electric, how to support the rollout

of charging infrastructure, and ways to welcome EVs to your community such as awarenessraising events, designated parking and wellplaced signage. Several local authorities have already found innovative and ambitious ways to make electric vehicles business as usual, says Andrew. Christchurch City Council, for example, initiated, researched and developed a 100 percent battery electric car sharing concept for Christchurch and then partnered with several organisations to go to market. Yoogo Share has delivered the 100 percent battery electric car sharing service to businesses and the public with access to a fleet of 100 cars from eight hubs since its launch in February. Northland Regional Council has 10 electric vehicles in its fleet and plans to add two more.

It has worked with partners to install fast charging stations across Northland. The guide will be released to delegates at the LGNZ Conference, then be available in the publications section of EECA’s website: www.eeca.govt.nz

Going to the LGNZ Conference? You have the chance to experience the buzz of driving a new, pure EV while in Christchurch for the conference, courtesy of Yoogo Share. Twenty delegates will be able to explore the city in a new BMW i3 or Hyundai Ioniq. Check your emails for details on how to enter.

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IN BRIEF

Infrastructure New Zealand report suggests changes for local authorities A new report calls for incentives and flexibility to resolve problems with infrastructure and urban development in this country. Importantly, it puts forward a number of changes for local government. Infrastructure New Zealand’s report, Enabling City Growth: Lessons from the USA, bases its findings on a visit to Portland, Denver, Dallas and Houston in April this year by 42 public and private sector infrastructure leaders. Stephen Selwood, CEO of Infrastructure New Zealand, says the four big, fast-growing cities face the same challenges as cities in our country but have different economic, social and environmental outcomes. He acknowledges the US cities may not be able to match New Zealand centres for liveability but says they do know how to grow. “Homes are being built, roads and public transport are being delivered and homelessness is down by a third in the past decade.” In contrast, he says, “New Zealand’s urban growth system is broken and must be revised to incentivise cities to grow, and city leaders must be given the flexibility and tools they need to succeed.” He says the key to US success is an urban growth system which is incentivised to want growth and has the tools and flexibility to overcome challenges. “The metro areas of the US, including the constituents and governments, benefit from growth. Sales and income taxes complement property taxes. More homes, residents and investment means more revenue for local authorities. Federal and state agencies sweeten the deal with grants and funds to encourage performance.” He adds that America’s “thin” welfare net doubles the importance of successful urban performance. Turning to local authorities, he says New Zealand must revise its governance responsibilities and funding. “It is not working having a multiplicity of small

councils with limited capability manage limited funds for such an important task. “We must re-gear local governance so that local authorities benefit from growth and have the tools to respond. A review of local government funding and responsibilities should be launched as part of the review of planning statute and alongside the Tax Working Group.” Referring specifically to local authorities, the report says that in the US, competitive tensions which are evident between cities are much less obvious within cities. “The grants and transfers approach of the federal and state governments to city investment appears to assist with regional collaboration. “It is strongly in the interests of all municipalities and counties comprising a metropolitan area to work together to attract federal transport and other funding. The process has been successful enough that some Metropolitan Planning Organisations now participate in a wider range of activities than just transport.” It goes on to note that collaboration is occurring across political lines, as well as government boundaries. In contrast, the report says, New Zealand councils across the same metropolitan area have a poor history of collaboration. “Auckland’s pre-2010 inability for councils to respond effectively to the region’s growth need precipitated the recommendation for amalgamation. District and city councils across New Zealand have a litigious and confrontational approach to growth. Environment court processes are extensively used to resolve issues like shifts of an urban boundary.

Central government has established regional councils to plan regionally, but funding from the centre is allocated by council territory. There are no central grants or transfers in New Zealand which require councils to work together to receive additional funding. “In transport, the only sector where local and central government share responsibilities, NZTA allocates funding to each council. Funding is not available at a metro scale, other than to support regional council public transport services. “Territorial authorities compete with each other for road and other improvement funding.” Furthermore, the report says councils in our country are constraining urban growth because they are poorly incentivised. It notes that councils in New Zealand play a critical role in growth management but their revenue is weakly linked to performance. “Council revenues are instead linked to cost and councils feel compelled to manage costs down even if wider value to New Zealand is undermined.” The report concludes that councils need to be rewarded for increasing housing and development supply by: • Enabling councils to share in taxes that the Government receives from growth through city or regional deals; and • Greater use of competitive grants and transfers to councils, like the Provincial Growth Fund, to encourage city-regions to compete for growth and invest in their future. It also suggests councils need to carry the costs of growth failure by incurring funding and responsibility for some central activities, for example, homelessness. To download a copy of the report go to: bit.ly/CityGrowthUSA

LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards finalists Congratulations to all the finalists in this year’s LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards. For a full list of which entries have made the grade so far, go to page 47 of this issue. The winning and

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highly commended entries will be selected from this list and announced at the LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards in Christchurch on the evening of July 16. Copies of NZ Local

Government Magazine, featuring these entries, and why they have been selected, will be given to LGNZ conference delegates on the morning following the awards.

GHD partners with Virsec Professional services company GHD has joined forces with cybersecurity provider Virsec to protect critical infrastructure in New Zealand and globally. Cybersecurity is a new service for GHD, which normally provides engineering, architecture and environmental services. Based in San Jose, California, Virsec is led by industry veterans who have created technology in network security, embedded systems and real-time memory systems. The team has leadership experience at companies including AMD, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Juniper, Dell, NextGen, BMC Software and ForcePoint. GHD global digital lead Kumar Parakala says the convergence of IT and critical infrastructure systems has resulted in an exponential growth of vulnerabilities. “Attacks on critical infrastructure have increased seven-fold in the past two years and security vendors and law enforcement are struggling to keep up.” Kumar was in New Zealand recently to launch GHD’s own new digital business. Speaking with NZ Local Government Magazine, he said

that for local authorities working across sectors as varied as water, transport and the environment, digitallyKumar Parakala (GHD) Atiq Raza (Virsec) connected infrastructure holds the promise of lower application, in real-time,” he says. costs, faster feedback loops and greater While GHD has traditionally delivered transparency. However, on the downside, it can engineering, architecture and environmental also bring greater risks of cyberattacks and services, according to Kumar, it is increasingly unwanted incursions. being called on to help digitally protect the He added that GHD was looking to establish physical infrastructure assets it designs as well. a consortium of three or four companies “Our cybersecurity service builds on GHD’s working in innovative ways to deter such experience in design, operations and maintenance attacks. (See NZ Local Government Magazine, of infrastructure to manage these risks for our June 2018, page 31. “The rise of digitallyclients,” says Kumar. connected infrastructure”.) He went on to say that GHD Digital had chosen Atiq Raza, CEO of Virsec, believes those to partner with Virsec as the firm’s solutions companies responsible for delivering critical protect processes and memory in real-time. infrastructure need to rethink how they “The solution maps acceptable application approach security because hackers are using execution, and instantly detects deviations 2018, increasingly sophisticated methods. 19–21 September caused by attacks. This Hamilton process effectively “Rather than externally chasing elusive detects and blocks application attacks within threats, we need to get the guess-work out milliseconds, taking the guess-work out of of cybersecurity and stop attacks at the cybersecurity.”

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JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

IN BRIEF

Seven-year flood scheme upgrade for Kaitaia A planned $15 million Awanui flood scheme upgrade will significantly boost flood protection in and around Kaitaia. Northland Regional Council says the ‘game-changing’ scheme is the largest construction project it has ever undertaken. The flood scheme upgrade should be underway within two years. The new seven-year Awanui scheme project is one of the projects at the heart of the council’s new Long Term Plan (LTP) 2018-2028. Te Hiku constituency representative Mike Finlayson says the scheme is designed to protect urban Kaitaia in a ‘once in a century’ type flood event and a 1:20 year event in surrounding rural areas. Flood risks will be mitigated via a combination of improvements to stabilise stopbanks in the area, plus diversion of flow and works to mitigate the effect of the large, slow-moving Bell’s Hill slip falling into the nearby Awanui River and causing flooding. “Without the protection this scheme should give us, a flood of that 1:100 year magnitude in

Northland Regional Council Kaitaia office area manager Peter Wiessing (left) and regional councillor Mike Finlayson on a stopbank beside the Awanui River with the Bell’s Hill slip site behind them.

urban Kaitaia could cause tens of millions of dollars in damage and potentially put lives at risk.” Mike says the value of the Awanui work will outstrip the $11 million-plus the council spent on the Hopua te Nihotetea detention dam, which officially opened two years ago and is designed to better protect Whangarei’s central business district from its own damaging and costly floods. Awanui’s new capital works will be paid for in a two-pronged funding approach. This will see 30

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percent of the new works funded via a 60 percent increase to the existing targeted Awanui River Management Rate, bringing in an extra $442,000 annually. The remaining 70 percent of the Awanui works will funded by ratepayers regionwide via a new regional flood infrastructure rate. The 70/30 spilt means that for just over an extra $2 per ratepayer across the region, schemes like Awanui become much more affordable at a local level for those communities protected by

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existing and ageing flood infrastructure work. The spilt also reflects the wider regional benefits from having Northland’s main service hubs better protected from flooding. According to Mike, region-wide, the millions of dollars’ worth of major new flood works planned under the new LTP will be repaid over 60 years. “This allows us to both spread the associated costs more equitably across the multiple generations that will benefit from the work, and once again, makes them more affordable for smaller communities at the same time.” Mike says the Awanui flood work is one of a raft of new initiatives tackling water, pests and flood infrastructure as part of the 10-year plan. “Councillors also listened to the feedback on flooding issues experienced by the community at Panguru, agreeing to bring forward by five years about $440,000 of planned flood scheme work there.” Project design and consent work – originally planned to begin in 2023 – would now happen this year, with construction due to begin late next year.

The ambassadors will serve one-year terms. The ambassadors represent organisations in Israel, New Zealand, New Zealander Tony Krzyzewski has been Switzerland, the UK and the US and appointed as one of only eight ambassadors span sectors including financial for the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA). services, law enforcement, technology, Tony, who is known to many in the local telecommunications and travel. government sector as Tony The ambassadors will help K, is co-founder and director increase the adoption of of SAM for Compliance. For existing and future GCA tools over two decades, his lively, and solutions. These include its fact-filled presentations at DMARC email authentication ALGIM conferences have efforts and Quad9, the DNS warned of the rising dangers security service that protects of cybercrime. against malicious websites while Tony Krzyzewski The Global Cyber Alliance preserving privacy. (GCA) operates out of New York City, London and Brussels. It is an Fourth-generation Waitakere local man international, cross-sector effort dedicated Ken Turner has joined the Waitakere Ranges to eradicating cyber risk. Local Board in Auckland. He lives in Huia Announcing the appointment in London, where he runs a small farm: a family the GCA said the eight ambassadors were legacy from his great-grandfather who chosen because of their “tremendous came from England in 1889 and settled in reputations” in the cybersecurity community. west Auckland.

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IN BRIEF

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY JULY 5 – 6

Governance Professionals and Committee Advisors Forum. Rydges Hotel, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_GovProfForum

24 LG Executive Leaders 2018 Programme – Application Deadline. bit.ly/LG_ExecLeaders2018

15 – 17 LGNZ Conference & EXCELLENCE Awards 2018. Christ’s College, Christchurch www.lgnz2018.co.nz

24 – 25 Maori Legal, Business & Governance Forum. Te Wharewaka Tapere, Wellington bit.ly/Conferenz_Maori_Legal_Governance_Forum

23 – 24 2018 Social Media Forum. Generator, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/events/2018-nzsomo

AUGUST

OCTOBER

1 – 2

2018 EDS Conference. Grand Millennium Hotel, Auckland www.eds.org.nz/our-work/eds-conferences

15 – 16 Electoral Officers Pre-Election Training. TBA, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_ElectoralOfficersTraining

1 – 4

CCNZ / ACENZ Conference 2018: Smarter Together Claudelands Events Centre, Hamilton smartertogether2018.co.nz/

Community Board Executive Committee Meeting. LGNZ, Wellington www.lgnz.co.nz/events/cbec-4/

9 – 11 EVworld NZ ASB Showgrounds, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/events/evworld-nz-2018/conference

NZ Cyber Security Summit. Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington www.conferenz.co.nz/events/nz-cyber-security-summit

13 – 14 Community Plan Forum. Novotel Rotorua Lakeside, Rotorua bit.ly/SOLGM_CommunityPlanForumRotorua

24 – 26 NZRA Recreation Conference. TBA, Auckland bit.ly/NZRA_RecreationConference

16 – 17 Building Nations Symposium. ANZ Viaduct Events Centre, Auckland infrastructure.org.nz/BNS-2018

29 – 30 Funding and Rating Forum. TBA, Auckland bit.ly/SOLGM_FundingRatingForum2018

19 – 23 Waves. TBA, Rotorua bit.ly/NZRA_Waves

31 – Nov 2

28 – 31 IECA More Blue Less Brown and Lots of Green Conference. Chateau on the Park, Christchurch bit.ly/IECA_Blue_Brown_Green 29 – 30 Regulating for our Climate, Environment & Urban Environment. Te Wharewaka, Wellington bit.ly/Conferenz_Regulating

Risk 2018. Grand Millennium, Auckland www.conferenz.co.nz/events/risk-2018

Local Authority Property Association – Annual Conference 2018. Ascot Park Hotel, Invercargill www.lapa.co.nz/events-2

NOVEMBER 5 – 7

NZ Transport Agency & NZIHT 19th Annual Conference. Marlborough Convention Centre, Blenheim bit.ly/NZTA_NZIHT_2018

SEPTEMBER

12 – 13 Communication and Engagement Forum. TBA, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_CommunicationEngagement2018

9 – 11 ALGIM Spring Conference. Crowne Plaza Hotel, Auckland www.algim.org.nz/algim-events/Spring-Conference

15 – 16 Contract Management – Wellington. TBA, Wellington bit.ly/SOLGM_ContractMgmtWgtn

10 – 11 2018 Simpson Grierson SOLGM Annual Summit. TBA, Queenstown bit.ly/SOLGM_2018AnnualSummit

19 – 21 ALGIM Annual Conference. Rotorua Energy Events Centre, Rotorua bit.ly/ALGIM_AnnualConference

19 – 21 Water New Zealand Conference & Expo. Claudelands, Hamilton www.waternzconference.org.nz

Would you like us to include your event in this calendar? Please email details to ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz

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ConstructSafe to launch Tier 2, 3, 4 & 5 assessments ConstructSafe is launching four new assessment tiers for construction sector specialised tradespeople, supervisors, managers and professionals. A Tier 1 competency-based assessment scheme for health and safety in the construction industry was set up in 2016. Almost 60,000 assessments have since been completed. The ConstructSafe scheme aims to give clients and construction companies and workers the confidence that everyone involved in a project has the competency skills to carry out their role, keeping themselves and others safe. A new Tier 5 assessment is tailored for project, contract and programme managers and aims to help them identify and eliminate health and safety risks right from the outset of a project.

Tier 4 is aimed at site managers, multi-site managers and site superintendents where competency is focused on the importance of leading and influencing others safely. Tier 3 is designed for supervisors of small construction teams, also known as leading hands or coalface leaders. This framework is based on knowledge of competency verification standards, technical health and safety, and the necessary skills in leadership and communication to keep their teams safe. Tier 2 tests are created for specialised trades. They identify critical risks and controls for each specific sector. These tests are delivered in the same online format as all the others and can include in-field assessments.

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JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EVENTS

AT THE STORMWATER 2018 CONFERENCE IN QUEENSTOWN

1. Campbell (Cam) Burrows (sponsor of the conference dinner). 2. Grant Russell (Stantec NZ). 3. Anton Carr (Stormwater360). 4. Chris Thorpe and Matthew Bone (both from Humes). 5. Allan Leahy (MWH and recipient of the 2017 Stormwater Group Professional of the Year award) and Kirtina Ismail (Hynds). 6. Dan Westlake, Eurofins. 7. Mark Groves (WSP Opus). 8. Gerald Strayton (Pattle Delamore Partners). 9. Gretel Silyn Roberts (Auckland Council). 10. Liam Foster (WSP Opus). 11. Scott Judd (Cirtex).

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12. The Winehouse venue.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

EVENTS

AT WATER SUMMIT 2018 IN WELLINGTON Hosted by LGNZ in conjunction with Water New Zealand and IPWEA.

1. Raveen Jaduram (Watercare). 2. John Pfahlert (Water New Zealand) & Lyn Stevens (chair of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry). 3. Dave Cull (LGNZ) & John Mackie (Christchurch City Council). 4. Melissa Parlane (Far North District Council) with Erica Mangin (Local Government Commission). 5. Donnick Mugutso (Kaipara District Counci) with Bede Carran (Timaru District Council). 6. David Caygill (Environment Canterbury) & Will Murray (Ministry for the Environment). 7. Environmental scientist Jim Graham. 8. Marcus Rink (Water Supplies UK).

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3 WATERS

The future of water THE DEBATE CONTINUES Alan Titchall reports from the two-day Water Summit 2018, attended by local government delegates, industry experts and central government officials, who will be implementing regulatory water change in the future.

s LGNZ president Dave Cull pointed out in his opening address, a summit on delivering future three waters solutions couldn’t be more timely. We now have the results of the second Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry; the Three Waters Review, led by the Department of Internal Affairs; a government readying to bring in new standards; and the release of the association’s own discussion paper – Water 2050: Quality. Review of the framework for water quality. “Things simply have to change,” he iterated, and issues of fresh water quality, funding, financing are all connected. “Change is on the way and we ask it be done collaboratively.” The summit was hosted by LGNZ in conjunction with Water New Zealand and IPWEA, with the local government association taking most of the stage and pushing its recently-published Water 2050 discussion paper and supplementary ‘cost and funding’ analysis, which builds on work it started five years ago. This paper calls for an “integrated water policy framework”, with five areas: allocation, water quality, infrastructure, governance, and cost / funding. It is also upfront on the issue of complexity and cost to councils as it becomes “increasingly difficult for councils to balance competing priorities and expenditure pressures”. “The key finding from our review is that the regulatory framework for fresh water and drinking water does not take into account adequately the costs for communities to meet these standards,” says the LGNZ president. Among key opportunities for change, LGNZ calls for a “co-regulatory partnership” between central and local government to set priorities together and take a “collaborative approach” to costs and new funding methods. The process for issuing non-regulatory guidance needs attention, it says. Dave also called for recognising different regional challenges and outcomebased solutions, and time schedules around new standards. Other summit speakers were Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Local Government; Lyn Stevens, chair of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry; Marcus Rink, the UK’s chief inspector for water supplies with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Water Regulation; Mike Brewster, chief executive of TasWater (Tasmania, Australia) – Tasmanian water model; and Jim Graham, an advisor on water quality to Water New Zealand, and who led a very lively discussion on why treatment and chlorination is a very good idea, even when you think your water quality and testing is up to scratch.

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JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

3 WATERS The minister plays her cards close Minister Nanaia Mahuta didn’t give the government’s water intentions away, other than to concur that it “is a conversation we need to have together”, and neither central nor local government can achieve results alone. The week before the summit, the minister had attended the Stormwater Conference dinner in Queenstown and made a deep impression of her dedication to her role and eagerness to work co-operatively with the sector. However, in Wellington the minster didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t know already in terms of ‘why’ the water industry must change but repeated encouraging notes about government and industry conversations as she leads up to reporting to cabinet in October. Meantime, the second stage of the Government’s Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry (which came out on December 6, 2017) made 51 recommendations on improving public drinking supply. One of these is for government to undertake a “decisive and definitive assessment” on taking responsibility for water supplies away from local councils altogether, and create a new aggregated and dedicated water supplier for the purpose. This leaves many council representatives asking what motivation they now have to invest in water infrastructure if they could lose the assets to this new entity. Jim Graham, an environmental scientist, agrees but stresses there’s a long way to go before any recommendations become policy, and there has to be a public submission process. There are different models of ownership that could be considered from ownership of assets transferring to the newlycreated supplier, he says, such as councils retaining ownership of their assets and leasing them to the supplier. Compensation could also be possible. The minister didn’t comment on this issue, but a response from the government on all 51 recommendations is expected by about August. The minster has publicly warmed to at least one recommendation already and which has been widely picked up by the press – the idea of increased aggregation of regional water services through an unspecified number of water providers that would be publicly-owned (privatisation under her government is off the table), or even a small number of cross-regional suppliers, with the infrastructure and operational costs, presumably, spread over regions both urban and rural. The minister referred to this model as a “very real prospect”, and common overseas.

The Havelock North wakeup The campylobacter contamination of two of Havelock North’s water bores was a ‘Pike River Mine’ like wakeup call exposing the vulnerability of untreated bore water supplies. Lyn Stevens, chair of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry, painted a sobering picture of the continued risk of aquifer contamination throughout the country through the likes of landfill seepage and severe weather events. He also noted that Havelock North was not an isolated incident, with around 35 other waterborne outbreaks recorded here over the past 45 years.

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Our compliance levels are well below international standards, especially among small suppliers, he added. It’s hard to believe, but the Havelock North water supply system at the time of the contamination was actually compliant with Kiwi regulations and the current Health Act 1956.

Scale of the cost of change Malcolm Alexander, LGNZ chief executive, spoke of the size of the funding pressure looming over three waters’ infrastructure made up of 569 council-owned systems and another 225 operated by communities. Figures provided place the new drinking water capital cost alone at between $305 and $567 million, and operating costs at between $11 million and $21 million. Work has been commissioned on the costs of new wastewater and stormwater systems and is due out soon. There’s a range of funding options, mostly already in use, that include targeted rates at local level, regional council rates, fixed and variable user charges and central government taxpayer contributions. The Water 2050 paper notes there is no single optimal funding method and multiple options are often used. “The challenge is to determine which combination of options works best across different council areas, different infrastructure types, and different customer types,” it says. As for any new national regulatory standards that are likely to saddle councils with more costs – they should be “quantified and fair allocation based on local and national outcomes determined”.

A new regulatory body The idea of a new independent regulator came out of the second Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry. The Department of Internal Affairs’ three waters review picked it up and recommends the ‘urgent’ setup of such a new water regulator that is independent from the Ministry of Health and district health boards. It also recommends the compulsory treatment of all public water supplies, including secure bore water supplies. The sector has accepted that a new water regulator is on the cards and it’s just a matter of what shape it will take. Water New Zealand chief executive John Pfahlert says his association supports the idea of a regulator. “The issue the Havelock North Inquiry recommendation has raised is whether it makes sense to establish a drinking water regulator alone, or whether regulation should be extended to cover wastewater and stormwater as well. “There seems to be an emerging view that at least wastewater should be included in the ambit of any new regulator. “There are, however, a wide variety of views on stormwater, not least of which is that there are no accepted national standards against which to regulate stormwater quality discharges,” he says. “In our view it is critical that the regulator is also independent and staffed with people with the appropriate technical expertise to oversee the performance of the sector.

Organise it AND THEY WILL COME!

They need to be people who will show leadership.” As Malcolm Alexander pointed out during his presentation at the summit, we already have successful regulatory models in this country. The gas market regulator is one such model, he says, and there are also the telecommunications and the electricity regulators that have been in operation for some time. There are also many regulatory water models used overseas, but it’s a matter of finding the right water model and context for this country, says Malcolm. Marcus Rink, the chief inspector for water in UK, and a guest speaker at the summit, provided a big-picture of various models used in Europe (which operate with varying compliancy success). England and Wales have a single authority (with privatelyowned water suppliers) that was set up in 1989 and has achieved a very high standard of compliance. Scotland also has a single authority (but publicly owned) and with just one water delivery service. The Netherlands has consolidated its once-numerous suppliers to 10 regional companies under a national and independent regulator and now boasts 100 percent when it comes to compliance standards (the best in Europe). Marcus also told us that when it comes to policing water standards and regulations in the UK, he is armed with a large staff contingent and powers to seize equipment, test and prosecute. Although he talked of 99.9 percent compliancy of

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JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

3 WATERS water standards in the UK, the size of fines he mentioned handed out for non-compliance were eye-watering. On the subject of modeling on a local authority level Colin Crampton, CE of Wellington Water, and Raveen Jaduram, CE of Watercare in Auckland, presented two different views. Wellington Water is answerable to five councils with a member from each on its board. Watercare (drinking and wastewater) is an independent council controlled organisation and, asset-wise, is the second largest company in the country next to Fonterra. Wellington (typical of most councils) charges its water services through rates; Watercare through metering (although Auckland’s stormwater is rate-funded). Colin favours keeping the three waters departments in one room. He says interrelated three waters works better than ‘twowaters’ from a catchment level in terms of long-term investment. Plus, for small and medium size councils it is better not to separate the staff skills, he says.

Community engagement Guest speaker Mike Brewster, chief of TasWater in Tasmania, had a very clear message. Don’t try and implement new standards and regulations without buy-in from the customer – co-operation is the best, most cost effective, method of compliance. Reform came to the Aussie island state after a Federal Government water audit in 2005 where it ranked lowest in complying with the country’s regulatory water framework. The state, at the time, had 32 bodies managing water and 23 areas with permanent ‘boil tap water’ notices. As a council-owned corporation, TasWater was set up in 2013 as a single three waters body and some A$1 billion has been invested in the state’s water industry since then. Unfortunately, says Mike, they forgot to “sell the message to the public who generally disagreed with the reasons and value behind the reforms”. “I can’t stress this enough”, he warned. “The costs of this

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mistake have plagued us for years, after new regulations were brought in. Make sure the customer is on the journey with you.” Nor was there sufficient alignment between councils and the state government, he adds. Next year, the state is taking a 10 percent interest in TasWater. Another message from Mike was to visit other countries and look at their models. “I took a five-week trip to Europe to check out water systems. That proved very valuable. While there is no perfect model, and only one that suits you, take the best from others and avoid their mistakes.”

The grey areas Areas that were raised briefly at the summit, but not discussed in detail, included those residents who, through no choice of their own, have to rely on septic tanks and accessing their own drinking water supplies. At the moment this area of three waters, in terms of quality, comes under council control. Also noted in Water 2050, not discussed at the summit, is the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 (and its ‘contentious’ 1985 amendment) and Treaty Settlement Acts. They contain many elements regarding the likes of land use, ownership and management for specific areas and waterways, and resource management that affect the way local authorities are expected to conduct their services, says the discussion paper. As many councils and regulatory bodies have already experienced, the Treaty of Waitangi Act involves ‘principles’, ‘spirit’, ‘interpretation’ and obligatory consultation that often involve unexpected cost. And such acts remain one of many indistinct areas in terms of improving water quality in this country, along with funding, standards and climate adaption, on which an overall regulator could provide clarity, guidance and instruction. That’s the hope. LG

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3 WATERS

Tackling wastewater emissions More than just a smelly problem Lesley Smith outlines Water New Zealand’s submission to the Productivity Commission on managing wastewater treatment plant emissions.

The impact of our wastewater treatment plants astewater treatment plant operators are became the subject of some frenzied research around used to thinking about the air emissions the Water New Zealand office when the Productivity around wastewater treatment facilities. Commission, looking into transitioning New Odour from a wastewater treatment plant Zealand to a low emissions economy, recently posed can be one of the surest bets for annoying the question; should wastewater treatment plants your neighbours. However, a less commonly be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme? considered impact from the gases coming off The response from our members was mixed. our wastewater treatment plants is the one Lesley Smith Many pointed out that as the water sector sits on the they have on climate change. front line of climate change impacts, all measures In greenhouse gas accounting parlance (including inclusion in the emissions trading scheme) should these are commonly referred to as “fugitive emissions”. be on the table. Wastewater fugitive emissions are principally composed of Others were more wary, asking; do we even know enough methane and nitrous oxide, both potent greenhouse gases. about our wastewater emissions for these to be included in Methane has approximately 25 times the greenhouse gas the emissions trading scheme? What opportunities would we warming potential of carbon dioxide and around 298 times have to reduce emissions anyway? the potential of nitrous oxide.

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It turns out the answers to these questions are; not really and heaps, respectively. At an aggregate level, we have some informed guesses about roughly the size of our emissions (see breakout box for more detail). At an individual plant level, however, the picture becomes a little more woolly. Take a quick browse through local authority greenhouse gas inventories and you might notice a stark absence of information on wastewater treatment plant emissions. To anybody who has compiled a greenhouse gas inventory this will probably come as no surprise. Nowhere is New Zealand-specific guidance material on how to determine wastewater fugitive emissions published. For authorities using land treatment systems, a style rarely used outside of New Zealand, little exists in the international literature either. However, not all authorities have let the absence of local guidance stop them from attempting to measure emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change document, Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories 2006 contains methods for determining wastewater treatment plant emissions. With a few exceptions these mostly work in New Zealand as well. Our country’s biggest wastewater treatment plant operator, Watercare, runs a highly robust emissions accounting framework. Emissions sources as diverse as embodied carbon in lime, biosolids, sludge dewatering and septic tanks are all accounted for on an annual basis, providing a potential example for other authorities who wish to get a better grip on their own wastewater emissions. Water New Zealand has suggested that an important first step towards tackling wastewater treatment plant emissions is to get a better handle on our emissions and greenhouse gas methodologies for some of New Zealand’s particular treatment processes (especially land application). For this to happen we can’t rely on local councils alone. Understanding carbon and nitrogen cycles is a difficult task, one where detailed expertise sits with central government agencies and academia. The mantra that you can’t manage what you can’t measure springs to mind. If you have made it this far through the story – “you’re suggesting accounting?” – I hear you yawn. Accounting is merely the boring key to understanding and unlocking the many exciting emissions reduction opportunities that exist at wastewater treatment plants. Our submission broadly suggests four categories of opportunities; energy recovery, energy efficiency, onsite effluent emissions labelling, and possibly nitrous oxide reduction through recovery systems. (See the breakout box for some of the more universally-applicable possibilities.) Circling back to where we began, would including wastewater treatment plants in the emissions trading scheme bring about such changes? And at what cost? Wastewater treatment plants have the important purpose of protecting public health and the environment, and accordingly treating effluent needs to remain the focus of their operation.

Emissions reduction opportunities at domestic wastewater treatment plants Energy Recovery • Anaerobic digestion;

• Heat recovery; and

• Biosolids energy recovery;

• Conversion into fuel cells.

Energy Efficiency: Opportunities for our domestic wastewater plants •W astewater pumping optimisation; •A eration system optimisation, addition; •P re-anoxic zone for biological nutrient removal; • F lexible sequencing of aerations basins; and • High-efficiency UV systems.

Wastewater treatment plant emissions in New Zealand. How big a deal are they? In 2016-17 fugitive emissions from wastewater treatment and discharge contributed 396.8 kt CO2-e to national emissions. The energy consumption of wastewater treatment systems (which includes pumping in reticulation networks in addition to wastewater treatment) used upwards of 1,302,007 GJ of energy in 2016-17, corresponding with approximate emissions of 43 kt CO2-e. To put these figures in context, New Zealand’s gross greenhouse gas emissions were 78.7 Mt CO2-e in 2016, putting the contribution of wastewater treatment plant fugitive emissions and wastewater system energy use at 0.35 percent and 0.05 percent of all national emissions respectively.

There are many trade-offs between energy, carbon and effluent quality. For example, energy UV disinfection systems, or aerated lagoons, improve effluent quality but come with a high energy penalty. Any moves that force trade-offs with public health in the name of emissions reductions should raise eyebrows. Add to this, the existing pressures on already stretched local council resources and staff time and there is a question about whether a price signal alone is enough to create change in local authorities. The risk is that another line item is simply passed on through the rates bill to local communities. LG •W e’d love to hear from you if you have any further thoughts about what the sector should be doing to manage wastewater treatment plant emissions. Water New Zealand’s full submission to the Productivity Commission is available on both the Water New Zealand and the Productivity Commission’s websites. •L esley Smith is technical co-ordinator at Water New Zealand. lesley.smith@waternz.org.nz

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

3 WATERS

Biophilic design Dunsborough, Western Australia Calibre’s Brendan Oversby detailed a project in Dunsborough, Western Australia, using biophilic design to integrate water-sensitive design with land development. He was speaking at the recent 2018 NZ Stormwater Conference in Queenstown.

tormwater runoff is an inescapable fact of urban life. For centuries, the drains and pipes that have channelled it away from homes and infrastructure have often been hidden away below ground or, if visible, unsightly and potentially unhygienic. But a growing demand from the community for environmentally-sustainable development, supported by forward-thinking professionals, has seen water sensitive urban design emerge from the dark – quite literally – as a new urban hero. Good management of stormwater offers not only flood protection and effective conveyance of stormwater but also the opportunity for water quality improvement. By combining this with biophilic design, a range of other

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benefits can also be realised, with outcomes for the community, the environment and the local economy. The concept of biophilic design is focused around the incorporation of specific elements of nature within the urban form. These include clean water and healthy vegetation. So, designing and implementing water management structures that incorporate local vegetation, provides connection for the community to these elements of nature. Auckland Council’s Guideline Document for Water Sensitive Design (WSD) of Stormwater (GD04) recognises the significant crossover between WSD and urban design, and encourages the fostering of inter-disciplinary, integrated design processes in urban design. Biophilic design has been used in Western Australia to

Plan view of two flood basins landscaped into the development as well as side treatment bioretention gardens.

View down basin low-flow channel from entrance road, noting vegetated treatment areas.

achieve outcomes for both water management and the wider sustainability aspects we’re seeking in this country. These outcomes relate to the social elements framed within human needs and the improved functionality of the local environment.

Dunsborough, Western Australia The development of a residential estate upstream of the town of Dunsborough, south-west Western Australia, is a good example of how water management and landscaping can utilise biophilic design to achieve an improved outcome for the environment and community. The development presented an opportunity to reduce existing flood risks to the existing township. The project is in an area where regulatory authorities encourage developers to incorporate water sensitive urban design into their urban spaces. Detailed water modelling showed that a series of large basins, stacked along the valley was a suitable engineering solution to accommodate stormwater runoff from the new development. The basins were sized to accommodate existing deficiencies in the capacity of the downstream networks, up to and including the one percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) event. The effect of the basins allowed a one percent AEP flow rate to be attenuated to that of a 20 percent AEP, to meet the capacity of the downstream infrastructure. The issue, however, was that this series of ‘dams’ was both unsightly in terms of its position within a residential

View within wetland back to resident houses, highlighting open vistas.

development, and offered little ecological value. Alternative options were therefore investigated to see if this engineered solution could be enhanced using biophilic principles, which would turn the flood protection requirement into a wider communal, and ecological, asset for the development. The review also looked at options to improve water quality, prior to the water entering Geographe Bay, a water body sensitive to nutrients and other potential pollutants. Water is central to the human psyche, so it seemed logical to encourage the public to interact with the water – visually, audibly and physically. The basins, roads and footpath networks were designed so that water could be seen and heard at multiple points. An ecologically-functioning landscape that also matched human preferences was also seen as critical to the design. This was achieved by maintaining sight lines over much of the space as well as incorporating particular points of interest. This included using locally native plants to produce a low cover under feature native trees. Local stone is also utilised throughout. This was complemented with areas away from main paths and houses, set aside for dense shrub planting, providing interest and critical variation in the landscape. The placement of the plants was also designed to allow for water quality treatment and fauna habitat, while creating an interesting landscape that could be viewed from the main road into the development as well as residents’ houses and local streets.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

3 WATERS This solution created opportunities for residents to interact regularly with nature as they went about their daily lives.

Pathway network The connection was enhanced with the construction of a network of pathways that offered easy walking and cycling options around the landscaped areas. The pathway was designed to include nodes that invited people to explore the spaces further. These pathways led to lookout points, as well as places where people could leave the path and interact directly with water. High bushfire risk is part and parcel of residential housing estate design in Western Australia. Low-fire-risk zones were developed, which included low native groundcovers interspersed with landscaped stone mulches. These were designed with organic curves to reflect natural systems and also included feature rocks from locally available material. These mulch areas were carefully placed so they could also act as informal pathways that led directly from residents’ houses to the formal path network. This area of stone mulch and low plants also allowed for view lines to be maintained for residents, providing passive surveillance to minimise risks of crime, while also providing people with a visual link to nature.

Overflow wetlands A combination of bio-retention systems, as well as overflow wetlands, were used to improve the quality of the water as it flowed through the system. The wetlands included a small low-flow channel to allow the upstream catchment water to move through without significant ponding and associated mosquito management risks. This upstream water is relatively clean, as the upper catchment along the stream is heavily vegetated around the banks, and the current low intensive farming practices do not contribute high levels of nutrients. For this reason, the current low ecological flows are allowed to drain through a vegetated low-flow channel. This low-flow channel also provides a flowing water feature during most of the year.

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Sight lines along this low-flow channel are maintained at key viewing points. During larger rainfall events, the water spills into the surrounding wetlands for treatment and detention. Stormwater from the developed areas flows into the bioretention systems first, where it is treated for most annual storm events (approximately a 63 percent AEP event). The infiltrated water and runoff during larger storm events overflows into the wetland chain for further retention and treatment.

Liveability Incorporating biophilic design into housing developments provides opportunities for integrating WSD with wider land development processes and considerations. It also enhances the liveability of the people who live in those communities. However, careful consideration is required so that the design process works with the regulatory framework and local conditions while also understanding the evolutionary preferences of people. When done well, the spaces created using biophilic design to treat and channel stormwater can provide multiple benefits to residents. They can also achieve outcomes for the local natural and created environments such as increased habitat, water quality improvement and reduced effects associated with extreme weather events such as heat and rain. These concepts, which are being used to such great effect across the Tasman, can easily be adapted by New Zealand engineers and urban planners. Calibre is working on a number of opportunities to incorporate these concepts across New Zealand. As increasing numbers of professionals and members of the public call for greater sustainability in urban design, this is just one way that we can move towards building cleaner, greener cities of the future. LG •B rendan Oversby is Calibre Group’s manager, water and environment – Western Australia. Brendan.Oversby@calibregroup.com

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GOVERNANCE

Representation reviews Gavin Beattie of the Local Government Commission sets out important procedural matters for councils when considering feedback from their communities on their initial representation review proposals and in moving to final proposals.

ifty-seven councils are required to review their representation arrangements prior to the 2019 local authority elections. The review is to ensure each council continues to provide fair and effective representation for individuals and communities in their area. Fair and effective arrangements strengthen local democracy and help maintain confidence in local government. Clearly this is something all councils should be striving to achieve. With this in mind, this article addresses keys steps for councils in moving from their initial representation proposals to final proposals. Councils observing these important procedural steps, based on principles of transparency and accountability, will help maintain confidence in local government.

Notifications & inviting submissions Councils are required to publicly notify their initial representation proposal, including an invitation for submissions, by September 8, 2018. In performing its role, which includes functions under other legislation such as the Local Electoral Act 2001, a council must act in accordance with the principles set out in the Local Government Act 2002. These principles include the council: • making itself aware of, and having regard to, the views of all its communities; • taking account of the diversity of the community and its interests, including future interests; and • providing opportunities for Maori to contribute to decisionmaking processes. The statutory requirements for the public notice of a council’s

The commission is here to help Guidance on all these matters is provided in the Local Government Commission’s Guidelines for local authorities undertaking representation reviews. These can be found on its website: bit.ly/RepresentationReviewGuidelines

initial proposal are to be seen as the minimum required. In light of the above principles, councils need to consider additional steps to encourage feedback on their proposals from as wide a cross-section of the community as possible. Targeted consultation with particular groups should be considered along with initiatives such as the use of council publications, public displays in council buildings and social media. Providing full, and widely-available, information on a council’s proposals is not only good practice but may reduce the potential for appeals / objections against the council’s final proposal.

Hearing submissions Those people who make submissions must be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard by the council if they so request. It follows that the opportunity to be heard must be made clear. Hearings must generally be meetings open to the public and should be as customer-friendly as possible. Councils must act in a legally fair manner when hearing submissions. This includes generally that only members who hear submissions participate in decision-making on those submissions.

Resolving a final proposal Councils must consider all submissions received and give public notice of their final proposals within six weeks of the close of the period for submissions. Amendments to an initial proposal need to be made in response to submissions. This is because, otherwise, the community will not have had an opportunity to give feedback on all aspects of the proposal. Changes from the initial proposal not reflecting submissions are grounds for objection, by any person, against a council’s final proposal. The public notice of the final representation proposal must state the reasons for amendments to the initial proposal and the reasons for rejection of any submissions. Therefore, a council’s resolution needs to record these reasons. LG

Commission staff are also happy to assist with individual inquiries. Please feel free to contact: Donald Riezebos: donald.riezebos@lgc.govt.nz; (04) 460 2202 Gavin Beattie: gavin.beattie@lgc.govt.nz; (04) 460 2204

• This is the second in a series of three articles by Gavin Beattie of the Local Government Commission. The final article will be published in the October issue of NZ Local Government Magazine.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

LEADERSHIP

Leadership

in the era of sea level rise There’s a growing, albeit not universal, consensus among local authorities that sea levels in some areas could rise by around 300mm by 2050. David Hammond looks at the implications for leadership in a very different era.

yclone Fehi, bringing rain, a king tide and massive swell, ravaged coastal Nelson in February this year with a storm tide level of around 50cm higher than expected. Locals had never seen anything like it. But according to climate change specialist Lindsay Wood this is just a curtain-raiser. The Fehi surge brought erosion, flooding, sandbagged homes, cars written off with salt water damage, road closures, salt water contamination, infrastructure damage, habitat loss and some nervous glances toward Nelson Airport located near the coast. Lindsay advises that as sea levels rise further, and storms intensify, it will get markedly worse both in severity and frequency. “What we see as extreme now will become more normal.” Lindsay’s view was also signalled by Jan Wright, who as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, wrote about the impacts of sea level rise (SLR) in 2015, flagging the impact on some 70,000 New Zealand homes and 130,000 people.

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This is a huge challenge for our qualities of leadership in the coming era of SLR. Let’s quickly deal with SLR. Sea level in 1995 is generally the baseline, and a SLR of one metre by 2100 is about mid-range of current official Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios (or approaching 300mm by 2050). That is what most, although not all, of our local authorities are working toward. However, there are big variables such as whether humanity gets its act together and slashes emissions, and what happens in the Antarctic region. Emerging information on the Antarctic suggests a 300mm rise by 2050 looks increasingly optimistic. “We need a serious discussion on whether prudence dictates we should be preparing for a higher SLR than one metre by 2100 and should be very mindful of it continuing to rise strongly after that,” says Lindsay. “Hopefully we Main pic: Road crews clean up after Cyclone Fehi. Pohara, Golden Bay. February 2018. Source: Photographer Martin de Ruyter, Nelson, for Stuff.co.nz. Used with photographer’s permission.

Best predictors of leadership in the era of SLR crises

• Curiosity – the extent to which leaders are prepared to look around, below, above and even away from the challenge to understand. Also, the extent to which leaders are prepared to sit along with others so that we can build strong and lasting alliances, to thrive through challenges. • Resilience – how leaders build and sustain their own abilities and the abilities of those they lead, to not only bounce back following setbacks but bounce forward.

1. David Hammond 2. Lindsay Wood.

then find we can ease back. But going the other way will be much harder.” The local government sector is fixing much of its attention on the impacts of coastal SLR and more intense weather events. But these are only a few of the impacts of climate change. They may well prove to be neither the worst nor the hardest to manage. Consider agriculture. ‘Business as usual’ is a term being quickly consigned to history. Far from the coast, the impacts of climate change for our country’s biggest export earner are already alarming. DairyNZ senior policy advisor Kara Lok told farmers in New Plymouth last year that half our greenhouse gas emissions are from agriculture and 46 percent of that from dairy. The Ministry for the Environment has long reported that climate change might lead to more droughts in the east, flooding and erosion in the west, reduction of feed quality in the Waikato with increasing subtropical conditions, and kiwifruit may become uneconomic in the Bay of Plenty. What does leadership in sustained crisis look like where Cyclone Fehi is not a one-off event but the new normal? The annual DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2018 of over 1000 executives worldwide rated development of the “next generation” of leaders as the top challenge (68 percent) to combat global issues like climate change.

Richard Wellins, a senior research associate at DDI, comments, “Never in the 20 years we’ve been collecting data for the Global Leadership Forecast have we seen the array of forces that are disrupting the essence of great leadership… And, never has the quality of our leaders to guide us into uncertain futures been more critical.” Alia Bojilova, former NZ Defence Force psychologist who works with Olympic athletes, executives, army officers and the Warriors league team, comments on the coming SLR challenge: “Only recently have we begun to realise that two of the best predictors of success for leaders are in their capacity for ‘curiosity’ and in their ‘resilience’,” he says. (See inset box). “These factors are seen to have served leaders in some of the most physically and morally demanding conditions, including natural disasters and combat.” LG • David Hammond would like to acknowledge Lindsay Wood’s guidance and expertise in creating this article. Lindsay is director of Resilienz.co.nz, a climate change solutions specialist, an architect, and a contributor to international conferences and articles on climate change. • David Hammond in an associate director of Sheffield, local government specialist and frequent contributor to Local Government Magazine. David.Hammond@sheffield.co.nz

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NZ Patent No: 616940

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info@torrentfloodgates.co.nz www.torrentfloodgates.co.nz info@torrentfloodgates.co.nz www.torrentfloodgates.co.nz

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TECHNOLOGY

Tararua District Council’s

Pahiatua Photograph Preservation Project A project to preserve Pahiatua’s past may not have had the wow factor that wins big awards, but it did win the hearts of local people. Tararua District Council’s Joy Kopa reminded delegates at ALGIM’s recent Autumn Conference that sometimes it’s the little things that matter.

ararua District Council was born in 1989 after local government amalgamation pulled together 11 former agencies. Today, it maintains one of the largest road networks in the country and has a ratepayer base of just 10,192. Records management is often about finding places to put stuff – hardcopy and digital – and ensuring it can be found if it is ever needed again. But this story is about one of the more interesting parts of my job: Preservation of records. Under the Public Records Act we are obligated to preserve protected records. We keep other records from the past because they help us make decisions about the future. For example, if a house had been destroyed because it had been built on dodgy land, we would probably not sign off a consent to build another house in the same spot. But there are other records that we preserve not because we have to or because they are helpful, but because we should. We know the name of the man who was the first mayor of Pahiatua Borough because we have records: but to have a face to put to the name – that is the bonus. This project was about those records: photos of the colourful character that was Robert ‘Kilty’ Smith, or of council members in the long grass, or the chairman who looks as though he would have been more at home on the set of Gone with the Wind. These images are our photographic history and without them our history would be rather bland. This project started as quite a simple task – an acorn in the giant forest of Tararua District Council projects – and grew to have a wide impact on the Pahiatua Community.

What started all this? After the Christchurch Earthquake in 2011 it was necessary to complete seismic evaluations for all our buildings. The Pahiatua Service Centre did not fully pass the test. The building is sound but the facade is at risk.

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It was agreed that the interior – mainly the chambers – needed a little TLC and it was decided this would be done sooner rather than later. The period panelling needed to be sanded and revarnished. And this is when records got involved. A simple request to take down the photographs while the work was completed set the whole ball rolling. Rather than see a task, we saw an opportunity. I invited [the shared service facility] Archives Joy Kopa Central to join me. As we worked, we talked, schemed and strategised, and soon the opportunity for digitisation and preservation went from a wee glimmer of possibility to a full-on floodlight of brilliance. By the end of the day we had a plan, and the photographs were on their way to Archives Central for accessioning and digitisation. A big high five to Archives Central for taking this on because they accepted this task knowing I would need the images to be available within just one week. Why this crazy deadline? Considering this gallery of photographs had been “hanging around” in this room since 1929 it seems perverse that this work would now need to be completed with such urgency. But with a fast-approaching citizenship ceremony the mayor wanted the room ready. Despite the very tight timeframe the digitisation work was completed, the images were uploaded to the website and the files were made available for me to print as reproductions for the chambers. But the original frames were overly abundant, mismatched and many were damaged by borer. They needed to be replaced. It was time for a judgement call – individual frames or collections? As you can see by the mock ups, we went with grouped collections. This project thrived on opportunities. Rather than say, “No, let’s stick to the plan,” we decided to be proactive. We took each opportunity and made it an action.

Then there were the requests

1. Len Barraclough, assistant county clerk, who was killed in action in April 1943. 2. The mock ups, made up of grouped collections. 3. Robert ‘Kilty’ Smith.

There were gaps in the photo collection, so I started contacting past council members or their families to find photographs we could borrow for digitisation. This was very successful, and we filled many gaps in our history before the framing process commenced. One gap still remains. William Tosswill was the mayor for Pahiatua Borough Council from 1902 to 1904 but there are no photographs of him anywhere. Our best guess is that any photos of him were wilfully destroyed when he was convicted of embezzlement several years after his time in office. To bring such dishonour would surely earn such contempt. Pahiatua history is not my forte so I enlisted the help of the Pahiatua Museum. This was a great move. Not only did their local knowledge help identify the families to contact, they also helped promote the project in the wider community. The added bonus was developing a great rapport with one of the museum’s founding members, Jean Eddie. This new relationship will definitely help with future projects now under discussion.

For public meetings we were asked that the room have a “bigger than Texas” monitor for digital displays. There was also a call to bring back a picture of the Queen. And our national flag. And if we are going to have the national flag we should have the Tararua District Council flag. There was the inevitable threat of bodily harm if we did not re-hang the Lindauer portrait of Samuel Bolton – our longest serving Pahiatua County chairman. We have a print of Queen Elizabeth on display in our Dannevirke Chambers so it was easy enough to reproduce this for Pahiatua. This was placed just to the side of the monitor. We then mounted the flags of both New Zealand and Tararua District Council either side to complete the look. Despite some comments that we shouldn’t bring back the Queen’s picture because this was an outdated practice, it was interesting to note that at the first citizenship ceremony in the new-look chambers, every new citizen chose this very spot for their photo. Finally, we returned the portrait of Samuel Bolton. Interestingly, we had always believed this to be an original Lindauer, but now we are not so sure, so I can see a little detective work in my future. We also hung our new collections of photographs, including on the back wall where the mayors from the Borough Council and the chairmen from the County Council take pride of place. The mayoral chain was reframed as well to fit in with the collection. This turned out to be a good decision because originally the chain had been glued to its mounting. It has now been cleaned and stitched in place. And just beneath the chain is one of the recent additions to the collection – a group photo taken at the opening of the building in 1929. The photo was found tucked at the back of the staff kitchen cupboards. Samantha Gain.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TECHNOLOGY Published We had been told several members of the public visited regularly to view the photographs. So, we went one step further and collated a book of all the photographs. For the first run I printed and bound 25 copies. At the first official viewing we gave a copy to each of the individuals who had assisted with the project, then left the rest at the Pahiatua Service Centre for the public to purchase. I expected this lot to last at least till I retired. But, demand has been so great I have just completed a third print run.

Point of difference Generally, when deciding which projects to take on, council must be logical, and weigh the pros and cons. Usually, it is important when spending ratepayers’ money that we are ruled by our heads. But sometimes it is far better to be ruled by our hearts. This project was one of those occasions. When, back in 1989 there was a major push for amalgamation of local authorities, Tararua District Council was formed from multiple preceding agencies including Pahiatua Borough and Pahiatua County Councils. At the time, this merger was not welcomed with open arms. Even today some members of the public within the Pahiatua area are still aggrieved by the amalgamation. Some are still angry, some are still sad. These old wounds run deep. One of the biggest concerns was that a council based in Dannevirke would not really care about what happened to the smaller towns in the southern ward. From the feedback we have received we believe this project has helped in a small way. We have proven to some of our more die-hard critics that we do care about their history. The best tool in our toolbox was a giant bucket of respect: for their beloved building and their treasured history.

The benefits This was an opportunity to not only preserve and protect our history, but also to find some of the lost years. It was a way to connect with the community because we were not just telling our story, we were telling theirs. And in doing this work we improved our facilities. Public bookings for the room have increased, and the mayor and council are now looking forward to holding meetings in the “new” old chambers.

Project management Because we were on a very tight timeframe we needed to be flexible. If there was a way to make it work, an opportunity became a task rather than a point to debate. We all know that many hands make light work, so when I see a willing hand waving at me, I grab it, shake it, and say “welcome to the team”. The support we received from Archives Central, Pahiatua Museum member Jean Eddie and picture framer Nick Hill was fantastic. Of course, there is always the question of the dreaded budget. Everyone wanted this work done but no-one wanted it to come out of their budget. A big thanks to our finance department for explaining

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The mayoral chain, reframed to fit in with the collection.

the parameters for a “capital project”. Apparently, it is not the size of the project that matters, it is the longevity of the results.

Learnings This tiny acorn of a project grew into a giant oak. We learned that “outdated” is a matter of opinion. The Pahiatua Council Chambers now has new technology side-by-side with the heritage and history of the room. History is now preserved so that if fate intervenes and the building is destroyed, our story remains and the faces of our past will not be lost. By showing respect for the history of this community we have earned respect, and we have made new friends. Some community members are keen to help with future projects – including working with Eketahuna on a similar project. This will be a little more difficult because there is only one Eketahuna Council photograph in our possession, and so the project will need to begin with a hunting expedition. This project was not complex, it was not earth-shattering, it did not move any mountains, but it did something we had not been able to do in 29 years – it thawed hearts. One Pahiatua resident actually cried. But they were good tears… they were tears of gratitude. We even made the front page. For those of you more into social media, our funky little zero budget YouTube video has had, at last count, 173 views in just three months. (And, no, I did not spend hours on YouTube re-running it over and over.) Lastly, I want to introduce the last image to be returned to the walls of the Pahiatua Service Centre and, perhaps, one of the most visited photographs in the collection. It is of Len Barraclough, assistant county clerk, who was killed in action in April 1943. This project may not be the big wow kind that wins awards but it is the kind of project that wins the hearts of our people. So, if there is one message I would like you to take away, it is: Please, have a heart. Sometimes these very small projects can have a massive impact on your communities by showing the public there is a human side to council. LG •T he Pahiatua Photograph Preservation Project was a finalist for this year’s ALGIM Information and Records Management Project of the Year. • J oy Kopa is Tararua District Council’s records and information manager. Joy.Kopa@tararuadc.govt.nz

ASSET MANAGEMENT

Abel Tasman Drive in Golden Bay.

Tasman District Council

Modelling assets Outcomes from modelling an asset network effectively can help justify funding in a council’s next Long-Term Plan. Tasman District Council has been doing just that. Here are some insights into how its roading asset deterioration modelling has worked so far.

ouncils are updating their Activity Management Plans (AMPs) and Long-Term Plans (LTPs), in conjunction with preparing business cases for 2018-2021 investment through the National Land Transport Fund. This means roading asset managers again face the challenge of ensuring they have a solid and reliable evidence-based business case to secure their funding. Tasman District Council owes part of its success to investing wisely through asset deterioration modelling to help secure funding. The network has been hailed as an example of industry best practice. Transportation manager, Jamie McPherson, manages 1750 kilometres of roads including 90 kilometres of sealed roads in the Tasman region. He is responsible for the outcomes of the council’s roading network condition and performance, and making sure his community is getting value for money. Historically, the district’s large roading network has had a

good level of investment and, overall, is in good condition. Big on primary production, the three big ‘Fs’ of forestry, fishing and farming are the mainstay of the region’s economy. In recent years, the district has experienced rapid growth including Aucklanders shifting to the region in search of a better lifestyle, and a growing expat community. This has put pressure on infrastructure budgets, especially with an ageing population and relatively low incomes. Jamie says the local community is struggling with the same challenges that other communities face: “as we grow, expectations increase in terms of outcomes”. Over the past four years, the council has reduced its roading resurfacing and rehabilitation budgets by 30 percent compared with historic budgets and was beginning to become concerned about the longer-term consequences of lower budgets. “There was a push within our council to save costs and

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

ASSET MANAGEMENT reduce debt projections,” says Jamie. “So, we needed to carry out modelling on our roading network to ensure that a reduction was feasible.” He wanted to test different investment scenarios to know if council was spending the right amount of money. “It’s the million-dollar question for any council, and modelling has been part of the way for us to answer that question. We can plug in different scenarios. What if, for example, we only spent $2 million annually? Or what if we increased that to $3 million in future years? We can play around with those options and it tells us what the outcome might be or the consequences of those decisions.” Jamie adds that any evidence to justify investment needs to be believable and as accurate as possible. “It has to tell a story and be understandable, and sometimes that’s a challenge. It’s very easy for a technical person to produce a technical report that other technical consultants can read, but it’s much harder to translate that technical information into easily-digestible summaries on which senior councillors and management can make strategic decisions.” Jamie and his team have used the IDS modelling tool (built within the dTIMS Software) via contractors over the years which has helped their roading network get to the standard it is today. The most recent run was done directly with IDS late last year. “I directed them on what outcomes we were looking for; which was to understand the long-term effects of decisions we make today about resurfacing and rehabilitation budgets in our AMP and LTP,” says Jamie. “I supplied access to our Road Assessment and Maintenance Management (RAMM) database and specified the investment scenarios that we wanted modelled which included low, normal, high and a combination of low-normal.” Data plays an important role in modelling any asset network; the accuracy of the outcomes and recommendations

improve as the amount of good data increases. However, most local authorities have limited detailed condition data and Tasman District is no different. “We have high speed data for about 30 percent of our network, and some falling weight deflectometer strength information,” says Jamie. “But there is always the uncertainty about how confident we can be with the results – an issue that most local authorities have to deal with.” Jamie advises that the more that is known about a pavement, the more possible it is to tailor the rate of deterioration. “If you have better data, the better you understand how the pavement will actually deteriorate and the outcomes and results from the analysis are more accurate. Recommendations from IDS through the analysis help me take that information within my organisation and justify future investment in data collection and improvement.”

Outcomes and the future Sharing some of the outcomes of Tasman District Council’s recent modelling project, Jamie says, “We received answers to how different investment levels would affect the longterm condition of our sealed network, in terms of roughness,

Tadmor-Bushend Road near Tapawera prior to recent rehabilitation.

Region covered by Tasman District Council showing the ward boundaries.

Council engineers inspect Tadmor-Bushend Road as part of planning for rehabilitation.

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cracking and surface age. We’ll also use the results as an initial input into updating our forward works programme.” One outcome he wasn’t expecting was that all scenarios suggested council would need to increase the amount of resurfacing on its rural access roads. “I was not anticipating this as the ONRC had us in the mindset that higher class roads should get more and everything else will get less.” The quality of the analysis reporting has also improved over the years, says Jamie. “In this latest modelling report, IDS is helping our consultants to write information in a way that is more understandable. For example, in the executive summary, easy FAQs such as ‘What does all this mean?’ and ‘Is the current resurfacing rate adequate?’ provide answers to those simple questions which is really handy. The report still has the technical geeky stuff in the back that people like me can read.” Looking to the future, Tasman District Council faces an increase in truck weight limits and the potential impact on local roads and, in particular, weaker pavements, especially considering the forestry and farming focus in the area. Jamie says data collection is key. “For some of our roads, we need better strength data because we don’t know how strong they are underneath.

We need to collect high-speed data to track if the roads are getting worse over time. Like everyone else, we have been grappling with investing enough to protect the condition of our assets against these bigger, heavier trucks.” He continues, “The outcomes from the modelling this time around gave us enough confidence that, overall, our condition is not going to worsen a lot. But, again, we need to test some of the assumptions and the only way to do that is by collecting better data. IDS’s experience and overview of dTIMS across a range of other networks provided some recommendations on what further data we should collect. That will help us justify prioritising expenditure on data collection.” Jamie concludes, “Overall, this latest modelling project helped us develop confidence and commit to a ‘low-normal’ investment scenario, with lower spend on resurfacing and rehabilitation for another three years before returning to what we consider ‘normal’ investment in historical terms. “This means we can save our community money in the next few years without compromising the future condition of the network. Our next steps are to field validate the modelling outputs as part of updating our forward works programme and we plan to develop a data collection strategy.” LG

Kerr Hill Road accesses a large forest estate.

Westhaven Inlet on the remote western coast of Golden Bay.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

SPECIAL FEATURE

Smart solutions

Flood management Predictive modelling, risk-based approaches and council response plans are increasingly being used to forecast and respond to flood events. Above all, there are growing calls for national leadership. Patricia Moore reports.

or a lot of Kiwis, 2017 felt like a year of constant rain as a series of severe weather events resulted in record or near-record amounts of precipitation across many areas. And, as we struggle into winter, 2018 has already been pretty soggy. The severity of weather events is on the increase. So where does that leave current flood management and mitigation strategies? Is awareness of the importance of such measures growing? Jon Rix is senior water resources consultant at Tonkin + Taylor. He says that while, in his experience, the awareness is there, the ongoing challenge is to ensure that an understanding of flood likelihood, and the consequences of flooding, are applied to enable good decision-making. “It’s impossible to eliminate flood risk,” he says. “However, a risk-based approach not only helps determine whether the risk is tolerable, it also helps evaluate intervention options where it is unacceptable.

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“The costs and benefits of interventions can then be evaluated to ensure financial prudence.” According to Dragan Tutulic, head of DHI New Zealand’s water resources department, responses to severe events are often reactive rather than proactive. “However, I would like to think there’s growing awareness,” he says. “The demand we’re seeing for flood forecasting systems suggests this. The solutions are becoming more sophisticated – less clunky and time-consuming. An example is Metservice’s adoption of new satellites and technologies. These are not just more accurate but also allow for more lead time in weather events.” We’re not alone when it comes to managing the consequences of climate change. Liam Foster is water sector leader – water resources and flood risk management at WSP Opus. Changing weather patterns are on the political agenda across the world, he notes. “In New Zealand we’re currently balancing multiple

Metservice DHI Wellington 2018. Phil Wallace (DHI), Dragan Tutulic (DHI) and Peter Kreft (Metservice).

Three customised 1200mm torrent flood gates in an urban zone.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

SPECIAL FEATURE “think holistically – and build in greater numbers of sectors across the four A’s model, (awareness, avoidance, alleviation and assistance), whilst seeking to reduce the chance of flooding. “This is our best approach moving forward to helping our communities to thrive.” He lists specific approaches that are likely to benefit from additional investment of time and effort by councils. These include: catchment-based approaches – top to bottom management of water flows; predicting and communicating flood risk; improving resilience across the spectrum, from people to businesses and infrastructure; and improved governance and resource issues.

Predictive modelling Waikato Times article on flood forecasting from 2008.

challenges that approach flood and stormwater management in a piecemeal manner and resolving issues as they appear. “This is untenable in the long term and a shift to a more proactive and future-ready approach is the way forward.”

National leadership Liam says recent events and reviews, such as the 2017 Rangitaiki River Scheme Review, provide good context and highlight the need for more stringent national leadership to help protect communities. “The report also points out that a similar event could happen in other at-risk locations,” he says, “and that climate change elements are likely to exacerbate those risks and therefore the status quo is not acceptable.” Given that most concentrations of population in this country have a river running through or around them, significant numbers of people are at risk from flooding or the downstream consequences. Dragan says a mindset of ‘let’s hope this won’t happen’ isn’t going to work and will create more damage in the long-term. “Some councils don’t have sufficient tools for large-scale flood investigation. They also need clean and reliable data as well as an up-to-date database – both are very important and often very costly.” Coupled with this, he says, are the resources of team members who can carry out the work. Liam believes the opportunities are there for councils to

Jon Rix, Tonkin and Taylor.

Dragan Tutulic, DHI.

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Meanwhile, Dragan notes that there are many uses for predictive modelling and the current uptake is increasing globally. “With technology moving into the cloud, it’s becoming more accessible. DHI forecasting models are currently being used by Environment Canterbury, Tasman District Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Waikato Regional Council. “Overseas, MIKE SHE, an integrated hydrological modelling system we developed, is in use in Florida and the Nile River Basin.” DHI has also worked with the State Water Corporation of New South Wales, Australia, to develop a Computer Aided River Management system (CARM). Driven by DHI’s MIKE Operations, CARM integrates models that reproduce key catchment and river processes with real-time measurements for the entire Murrumbidgee River system.

Flood gates While the latest technology may be providing new options for flood management, flood gates, first used centuries ago by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, are still a vital part of the process. And, says Brent Whittingham at Torrent Flood Protection, with cost-effectiveness an important factor for local bodies, the market for flood gates is growing. “Made in this country using modern materials and manufacturing techniques, we’re able to produce a product that’s lightweight, long-lasting and easy to fit. “That saves dollars for local authorities through reduced fitting time, uses less manpower and machinery, and gives a longer protection lifespan.” With widely varying requirements around the country, Brent

Liam Foster, WSP Opus.

Brent Whittingham, Torrent Flood Protection.

says his companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to customise gates is proving very successful. Torrent Flood Protection also offers a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fish friendlyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; option and says the emphasis onÂ fish being able to move freely through waterways is an important consideration for local authorities and communities.

Response plans Jon adds that councils need response plans. These may require consideration of a larger number of scenarios than are typically considered. Such scenarios could include â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;what if a larger event occurs?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;what if that structure fails?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A focus on reducing the effects of flooding, rather than reducing the extent, is likely to be increasingly prevalent through options such as increased warning time, rapid cleanup, and identifying and providing alternative buildings for people and businesses.â&#x20AC;? He predicts the use of flood-forecasting and real-time, or near-time, data will become increasingly prevalent in flood response through increased use of smart networks, citizen science and social media platforms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These data sources will provide decision-makers with the information to make immediate decisions and will also help with planning and readiness preparation for the next big event.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;NZFloodpics is an example of a citizen science platform which has been used by operational staff during significant flood events.â&#x20AC;?

Fail-safe Weather events will keep coming: successfully managing the risk of floods is the challenge. Liam says that councils need to be designing around failsafe mechanisms. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They need to be protecting communities through good design based on a better understanding of exceedance flowpaths.â&#x20AC;? And, he says, to allow the development of coherent, longterm plans â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which can protect communities from flooding â&#x20AC;&#x201C; start by developing a new National Flood Risk Assessment Review across the whole of the country. LG â&#x20AC;˘ Patricia Moore is a freelance writer. mch@xtra.co.nz

COMING UP

In the AUGUST issue

SMART SOLUTIONS â&#x20AC;˘ Remediating contaminated land â&#x20AC;˘ New approaches to district planning

THE ASSURANCE OF OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE! WATER TESTING In over 30 years weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gained a lot of valuable knowledge and experience in water testing, so you can have total confidence in the quality of our test results. In that time weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve accumulated a wealth of data specific to New Zealand, ensuring your results are both accurate and relevant. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also established ourselves as a leading testing laboratory for New Zealand councils.

FREEPHONE 0508 HILL LABS (44 555 22) www.hill-laboratories.com

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

SPECIAL FEATURE

Smart solutions

Digital engagement For ratepayers, more streamlined processes, 24/7 access, and genuine input into council plans are just some of the benefits of digital engagement with councils. So, what would it take for councils to add more digital options to their communication toolkit? Patricia Moore reports.

ho knew, when the first mobile phone network was launched in this country a little over 30 years ago, that mobile devices would become the ubiquitous communication tools they are today? An estimated twothirds of Kiwis now have access to three or more devices, with smartphones the popular choice for approximately 70 percent of us. The future of the relationship between local bodies and ratepayers depends on using this technology, said Jos Creese, influential UK digital consultant, speaking at last year’s ALGIM conference in Rotorua. But is digital communication a step too far for decisionmakers who may not identify as digital natives and whose interaction with the community has traditionally been on paper or over the counter during office hours? Digital channels are already enabling councils to be available and accessible 24/7, reports Datacom’s director local government, Mark Matijevic. “Councils are developing long-term plans that require better community engagement and interaction.” He says technology is being used to streamline council processes and create better relationships between councils and their customers in a number of key areas. “This is happening in consents, hall and park booking, swimming pool inspection booking, health and compliance processing and notifying communities in different ways.” The central issue, says Mark, is communication that is relevant. “People don’t want to be spammed. They need relevant information that makes their lives easier.” He says Datacom is currently “very excited” that issue reporting is going live through its Antenno community engagement app, allowing people to report issues, submit ideas and send feedback to their council.

Organisational shift Bang the Table engagement manager Joe Waller says relationships between communities and councils are strengthening through use of online engagement platforms across the sector.

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“However, there’s still a long way to go. The implementation of technology, in itself, doesn’t alter the strength of those relationships. What’s required is a holistic approach that embraces technology and builds an online relationship.” He notes “a significant organisational shift” that suggests councils are beginning to be more open to input from their communities outside the current RMA process. “Over the past 12 months we’ve seen a number of local authorities driving a holistic approach to their engagements, inviting broad public involvement in projects and enabling cross-pollination of projects. “This approach also builds trust through exhibiting behaviours, such as transparency and openness to input, in the pre-engagement stages of consultations.” He cites Otago Regional Council and Rotorua Lakes Council as good examples of this.

Get proactive GHD communications and engagement leader Kate Woodruffe says ratepayers are already using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to engage in local issues they care about, and keep up-to-date on useful information. “Neighbourly, owned by Stuff, is also being used by councils to connect with their communities.” A plus is that these existing online communities don’t require a big marketing spend. “It’s important for councils to understand where their citizens congregate and connect on issues, and actively seek them in those places. “Think of it as proactively giving people the information they need, on topics relevant to them, rather than requiring people to come to you, work out what’s relevant to them and find the information they need.” Websites only provide the latter, she says.

Hurdles So, are there barriers to councils being truly online? Mark says cost can be a barrier. “But time and resourcing seem to be the biggest issues. There are so many priorities for local government.

Mark Matijevic, Datacom.

Joe Waller, Bang the Table.

Kate Woodruffe, GHD.

Amanda Newbery, Articulous.

“From an IT perspective, many of their backend systems are getting older, require upgrades and improved infrastructure and are hard to connect to, so they swallow a lot of the IT skillset and create a barrier to providing digital services.” Kate acknowledges every council has its own particular challenges but highlights two common barriers to success: deciding to ‘go digital’ without having a plan; and introducing new digital channels without the right level of resourcing. “Digital in, and of, itself is not a strategy. Invest in an ‘engagement’ strategy founded on quality research and, as part of that process, identify digital solutions to help achieve those goals,” she says. “Resist the urge to acquire a tool and try to create a strategy around it.” And don’t expect existing teams to be able to absorb digital on top of existing channels management. “Like anything, the value you get out is equivalent to the effort and resources you put in. To get the most out of your digital solutions, hire people with the right skills.”

Straddling two worlds In a recent project, Brisbane-based communications consultancy Articulous worked with Cairns Regional Council to improve the diversity and depth of community input into its next long-term regional plan. Articulous managing director Amanda Newbery explains: “The aim was to actively engage the community to provide insights into the five-year plan.”

From a base survey of 300 randomly-selected community members, a record number of over 9000 responses were received. “We believe this demonstrates that projects which straddle the junction between online and face-to-face engagement are the future for cost-effective, successful, and deep collaboration between local governments and their ratepayers. “Broad-reaching and innovative online activities enable a greater reach so that time-poor and non-traditional engagement targets can become involved in future-setting as well as more day-to-day decisions around activities such as rubbish collection.” However, Amanda says beyond the use of basic questionnaires or online platforms encouraging people to ‘have your say’, her company often finds local authorities are resistant to engaging citizens digitally. “Those tools are a good base, but we believe by delving deeper to better understand the concerns and interests of the community – and using this research to carefully curate activities both online and off – it’s possible to engage the broader community in a meaningful way that can genuinely generate innovation and change.” As Joe Waller says: “The focus for digital engagement is to move beyond established transactional linear relationships and partner with the community involving people in decisions that impact the environment and how we come together as a community.” LG • Patricia Moore is a freelance writer. mch@xtra.co.nz

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS

STORMWATER 2018

PAPER OF THE YEAR Jahangir Islam (AECOM), Josh Irvine (WSP Opus), Nick Brown and Nadia Nitsche (both from Auckland Council) won the Paper of the Year award for their presentation Continuous Simulation Modelling to Support Healthy Waterways at the recent Stormwater 2018 conference in Queenstown.

INTRODUCTION The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) directs regional councils and communities to set objectives and limits to better manage freshwater quality. Sediment is one of the key ‘matters’ identified in the NPSFM, for regional councils to take into account for a healthy freshwater body and is included in both compulsory values of ecosystem and human health (MfE, 2017). Auckland is currently experiencing unprecedented urban development, with more than half of New Zealand’s population growth in the next 30 years predicted to occur in the region. Many streams in the region are currently assessed as degraded, experiencing significant erosion from the hydrological effects of existing development. Without further intervention, future growth is likely to significantly exacerbate the issue. Conventional development increases runoff volumes and the duration of elevated peak flows which consequently degrade the morphological and ecological functions of streams. The observed increase in stream erosion in the region is a major concern for Auckland Council, iwi and the general public. Frequent storm events contribute to the majority of the stream erosive effects compared to larger, rare events. Research indicates that most of the sediment in streams is from streambank erosion processes rather than from slips and exposed soils in the catchment. Developing appropriate solutions to manage streambank erosion requires a good understanding of the associated flows for frequent storm events. The current event-based modelling practices adopted in the Auckland region (e.g. TP108) are not suitable for predicting

stream flows for frequent storm events. This is because variations in the long-term pattern of rainfall intensity and duration, antecedent soil and storage conditions, and inter-arrival times between storms can have a significant impact on the frequency and duration of flows. Long-term continuous simulation modelling is best suited to represent these processes and to predict low-magnitude stream flows. In the Auckland region, of the 233 catchments only 18 percent have flow gauge information (the average catchment area is 2000ha). Due to the limited number of stream flow gauges, continuous simulation modelling is required to simulate the hydrological processes. The purpose of this study is to develop a continuous hydrological modelling methodology using EPA-SWMM software, to predict stream flows in un-gauged catchments. By analysing gauged catchments, a suitable set of continuous hydrological modelling parameters can be established. Where ungauged catchments have similar characteristics, these parameters can be adopted, enabling a prediction of stream flows, and in turn an assessment of the stability of streambanks, considering critical shear stresses, can be undertaken. This is critical to achieving healthy waterways – not only to mitigate the impacts of further development but to begin a process of restoring stream health across the region. This study helps to enable the assessment of erosion mitigation interventions and to demonstrate meeting sediment targets under the NPSFM.

ABSTRACT Frequent storm events contribute to the majority of stream erosive effects compared to larger, rare events. Developing appropriate solutions to manage erosion requires a good understanding of the associated flows for frequent storm events. Long-term continuous simulation modelling is suited to represent the complex hydrological processes and to predict lowmagnitude stream flows. Continuous simulation hydrological models for five gauged catchments in the Auckland region were developed using EPA-SWMM modelling software. Three infiltration models were used – Horton’s method, Green-Ampt method and the Curve Number (SCS) method. Each of the models was calibrated against the stream flow gauge in the catchment. Calibration of the hydrological models considered

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methods other than just matching peak flows and the receding limb of individual events. This included calculation of the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient, matching of the peak flow frequency and flow duration curves from the gauge and the model. This ensures better overall flow replication and thus allows for better prediction of frequent events. Calibration resulted in a good match for >99.5 percent of the stream flows. Four out of the five catchments calibrated provided at least a satisfactory match, based on the Nash-Sutcliffe results, with the Whau catchment providing a very good calibration and the Hoteo catchment providing a good calibration. The analysis undertaken across the five gauged catchments enables

Josh Irvine, from WSP Opus, and Jahangir Islam, from AECOM, with Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta.

a suitable set of continuous hydrological modelling parameters to be established. These parameters could be adopted for ungauged catchments across the Auckland region and used to better understand stream erosion processes in lieu of observed data. The understanding of the stream flows can then be used to calculate stream flow velocities and shear stress acting on the stream bank to predict which streams may erode and where, and to estimate the quantity of streambank erosion and sediment in the receiving environment. The resultant models can also be used to assess the effects of future development and the benefits of potential erosion mitigation interventions. This is critical in protecting and restoring stream health and attaining healthy waterways.

CONCLUSIONS The following conclusions can be made from this study: • Continuous simulation modelling is suited to predict frequent stream flows, as it can represent variations in the long-term pattern of rainfall intensity and duration, antecedent soil and storage conditions, and inter-arrival times between storms that can have a significant impact on the frequency, magnitude and duration of flows. • The Curve Number (SCS) method implemented in EPA-SWMM is only an approximation of the method and does not replicate the Curve Number runoff peak flows and volumes. The error is greatest for lower curve numbers in pervious areas. Another error was found with the EPA-SWMM software, when the depression storage parameter is used along with the Curve Number infiltration method for continuous simulation. Infiltration losses cease after approximately a year (depending on parameters). This has been acknowledged by EPA-SWMM software developers. Considering these reasons, the Curve Number method implemented in EPA-SWMM software should not be currently used for single event or continuous simulation modelling. • The spatial variability of rainfall is a key issue when matching flows. The Whau and Hoteo catchments provided the best match and were the catchments with rainfall gauges located in the catchment. The unsatisfactory match for the Westhoe catchment is likely due to the distance to the rainfall gauge. The Westhoe rainfall gauge was located three

kilometres away from the catchment. • Calibration was undertaken and assessed by comparing observed and predicted hydrographs, the calculated Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency, flow duration curves and peak flow frequency curves. It was found that no one comparison method provides certainty over calibration. • Calibration resulted in a good match for 99.9 percent of all stream flows for the Whau and Hoteo catchments and 99.5 percent for the Lucas and Chartwell catchments. • Peak flow frequency results show that <one year ARI flow events are well matched and >one year ARI flow events provide a reasonable match for the Whau and Hoteo catchments. • From the Nash-Sutcliffe results, four out of the five catchments calibrated provided at least a satisfactory match, with the Whau catchment providing a very good calibration and the Hoteo providing a good calibration. • Of the parameters used in calibration, the catchment width, groundwater surface elevation and groundwater A1 coefficient were the most sensitive. To reduce uncertainty with these parameters, it is important to understand the catchment width parameter and catchment specific groundwater parameters. • An accurate representation of the groundwater in the catchment is key in representing frequent stream flows. A good understanding of the catchment’s specific groundwater conditions is important to achieve this. • The Horton and Green Ampt infiltration methods provided similar results, in terms of the Nash-Sutcliffe result, hydrographs, and the flow duration and peak flow frequency curves. This study is leading to the development of a long-term continuous simulation modelling methodology in the Auckland region. The methodology and parameters will be further refined through experimentation with other catchments using the knowledge and issues gained in this study, to reduce uncertainty in model results and thereby gain a level of confidence in establishing the hydrological modelling parameter values. These parameter values can be adopted for ungauged catchments across the Auckland region and used to predict whether a stream will erode and can be utilised in contaminant loading assessments. LG

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

FRANA DIVICH / ON LEGAL ISSUES PARTN E R, H EAN EY & PARTN E R S. frana.divich@heaneypartners.com

The power of lay witnesses Court confirms builder’s duty is to build code-compliant buildings.

I THE EVIDENCE OF THOSE DIRECTLY AFFECTED IS OFTEN POWERFUL AND COMPELLING.

n the case Minister of Education v H Construction North Island Limited (formerly Hawkins Construction North Island Limited) [2018] NZHC 871, the High Court awarded $13.4 million worth of damages against the builder. The court said “…The pupils and teachers have not had the benefit of healthy code compliant buildings for eight years; and the award reflects the amount necessary to repair the school”. The builder was sued in negligence, not in contract. There are four important issues in the judgment as far as councils are concerned, namely: 1. The compelling nature of the lay evidence; 2. The scope of the duty owed by the builder; 3. The circumstances in which a building contract will exclude liability in negligence; and 4. The absence of a key party.

Evidence The court heard 15 expert witnesses but found the evidence of the school’s principal, the senior caretaker and the school’s business manager, plus a visit to the school (complete with buckets for corresponding leaks) to be the most illuminating.

The scope of the duty owed by the builder The court considered Spencer on Byron [2013] 2 NZLR 297 (a Supreme Court judgment dealing with council liability for performing regulatory functions under the Building Act) and found that the majority’s reasoning was logically referable to builders too. As with councils, it is “eminently foreseeable that carelessness” on the part of a builder may cause loss to a building owner. The builder’s duty of care to building owners is to ensure that the buildings they build are code compliant.

Excluding liability in negligence Central to the builder’s defence was that under the contract the architect was responsible for the design. It argued it could not be liable for design

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defects because the obligation for ensuring compliance with the Building Code fell on the architect. It also argued that if a duty of care was imposed it would be contrary to what the parties had agreed in the contract. The court disagreed and gave a number of reasons why a duty of care was not excluded by the terms of the contract. The primary reason was the absence of any express contractual exclusion for the builder’s liability in negligence.

Absence of the architect The builder maintained throughout the trial that the defects were the architect’s fault and were caused by defective design. The builder elected not to join the architect to the claim nor did it subpoena the architect (or any of its employees) to give evidence. The court noted that there was no suggestion that the architect was impecunious or unavailable as either a party or a witness. The court said that such an approach was artificial, and the judgment did not identify the architect or make determinations adverse to it.

The importance The evidence of those directly affected is often powerful and compelling. Do not underestimate the power of lay witnesses. The judgment confirms a trend in recent cases that the scope of a builder’s duty of care to building owners is to build code-compliant buildings. This is an analogous duty of care to the one councils owe. A duty of care will not be excluded by a building contract unless there is a clear, express term. The court commented on the notable absence of the architect and the artificiality it brings to such a proceeding. In cases where a council seeks to apportion blame with another building party and that party is solvent, it is prudent to join them to the claim. LG

PETER SILCOCK / FROM CIVIL CONTRACTORS NZ CH I E F EXECUTIVE, CIVI L CONTRACTOR S N EW Z EALAN D. peter@civilcontractors.co.nz

Plan it, resource it, build it Long-term plans show gap between plans and action.

I ONLY 70 PERCENT OF PLANNED INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE WAS ACTUALLY SPENT.

recently spoke at the Tauranga City Council / Western Bay of Plenty Contractors and Consultants Forum about the civil contracting industry’s workload, capacity and capability, as well as the challenges and opportunities contractors are facing in the Bay of Plenty and across New Zealand. Attended by over 200 people, this was a great event that created connections, shared information and built understanding between contractors, developers and local government. It was a very worthwhile event that gave contractors a better understanding of what’s coming up. I congratulate the councils concerned. The good news is contractors in the Bay of Plenty and in many other parts of the country are busy. With local government investing heavily in infrastructure, and strong residential and commercial developments, contractors are likely to remain busy in the foreseeable future. That’s fantastic for our industry and for local authorities who are experiencing rapid growth. Keeping in mind the theme of information sharing, I couldn’t help thinking that councils around the country have just finished their long-term plans, with many forecasting increased infrastructure investments. Yet the Office of the Auditor-General highlighted as a concern in its Local Government: Results of the 2015/16 Audits report that only 70 percent of planned investment in infrastructure was actually spent, with only minor improvements in 2016/17. There is clearly a big gap between what is planned and what gets done. Councils must

look to the future and ensure their own staff have the capacity, capability and time to bring work to market in line with their forecasts. Better resourcing for their teams is needed to get things done efficiently and effectively. Presently, it’s not unusual for a contractor to be waiting to bid on a job that gets pushed back six months or more. Nor is it unusual for the commencement of contracted work to be delayed without completion dates being amended, placing pressure on already stretched resources. Infrastructure is a vital industry, and contractors want to be part of the solution for councils. But they need time to ensure adequate resources and the right skills are available for important public works. The issue isn’t about creating more work, it’s about having time to plan ahead so existing work can be done efficiently and managing workflow so it can be spread evenly and effectively. Quality will almost always suffer when people are forced into a ‘rush job’. Contractors rely on council forecasts to plan their own businesses and ensure they have the capability, capacity and machinery to win and successfully complete contracts. At a time when our contracting industry is so busy, productive use of resources is critical if clients want value for money. In this busy market, councils looking to become a preferred client will need to work closely with the wider civil contracting industry. They will need to engage early with contractors to ensure the capability and capacity to do the work they have coming up is there when it’s needed. LG

Tips for interacting with civil contractors • Make tender proposals clear and simple. The quality and information you provide will enable contractors to understand what you need and illustrate how they can help. If you ask clear questions, you’re more likely to get clear answers. • Open the conversation early. Contractors have technical expertise and can help advise on what’s possible and the likely resourcing required so you can present a clear and attractive tender proposal that is

more likely to receive enthusiastic responses. • Allow for the unexpected. Build time for unexpected delays into projects to allow a more measured approach. If the same budget and effort can be spread over a longer project timeframe, this can also lead to a higher level of quality. • Let contractors know what’s coming. A good way to do this is engaging with your regional branch of Civil Contractors New Zealand.

JULY 2018 LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

DAVE CULL / FROM LGNZ PR ESI DE NT, LOCAL G OVE R N M E NT N EW Z EALAN D (LG NZ). mayor@dcc.govt.nz

At the Water Summit Focusing on a new water future for our country.

L THE DISCUSSIONS HELD AT THE SUMMIT WILL FEED INTO LGNZ’S WATER 2050 PROJECT.

GNZ recently hosted a significant Water Summit in Wellington which explored the key issues of drinking water regulation, funding for three waters infrastructure, alternative options for the delivery of water services and freshwater management. Over 170 delegates from across local government, iwi, national and international industry experts, and government officials attended. Water, whether our freshwater resources or the three waters infrastructure we use for our waste-, storm- and drinking water, is one of the major issues of our times and one in which we all have a stake. New Zealand’s prosperity, health, safety and environment depend on an adequate, safe and cost-effective supply of three waters services. This was reflected at the summit, the second major issues seminar on water LGNZ has run over the past year, following on from the Freshwater Symposium held in May 2017. Local and central government and the water sector bodies got together in one room to address issues and discuss potential solutions to improve New Zealand’s freshwater and three waters delivery. Speakers included Minister of Local Government Hon Nanaia Mahuta, who talked about the government’s Three Waters Review reform programme and the options and recommendations needed to create a strong, sustainable three waters system. Among the other speakers were the chair of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry Hon Lyn Stevens QC, the chief inspector of water supplies with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Marcus Rink (United Kingdom) and the chief executive of TasWater, Mike Brewster (Tasmania, Australia). The Havelock North drinking water contamination highlighted issues including funding, ageing infrastructure and the pressures of climate change and population movements. It reiterated that we need to change how we’re doing things. The discussions held at the summit will

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feed into LGNZ’s Water 2050 project. That seeks a comprehensive framework that brings freshwater issues and water infrastructure into a coherent policy. The policy would integrate freshwater quality and quantity, standards, rights and allocation, land use, three waters infrastructure, cost and affordability, and funding. At the same time, it would recognise that the allocation of iwi rights and interests in freshwater is a live issue for the Crown. A lot of work is already underway. In May, LGNZ released the second Water 2050 discussion paper, focused on water quality. This identifies key issues with the policy framework for drinking and freshwater quality and explores opportunities to correct them. The government acknowledges the extensive work done by LGNZ in its Water 2050 programme to identify and meet existing and future challenges. There is an increasing demand in our communities for higher standards of water, both for freshwater resources and for drinking water, but this will come at a cost. The government has recognised this and we envisage LGNZ’s third discussion paper Water 2050: Cost and funding – meeting the costs of water infrastructure will inform government policy development on funding options for three waters infrastructure. LGNZ and its members share the goal of safe and plentiful water for New Zealand and this has, by and large, been delivered consistently for decades. However, there are challenges which require collaboration between central and local government for the benefit of all New Zealanders and that was a focus of discussion during the summit. The summit provided a forum for all parties to have their say and I was heartened by the strong commitment shown by attendees to ensure New Zealand’s water quality is lifted. It won’t be easy, and we will all, as councils, government, businesses and individuals, need to work together on this task. LG

Excellence Award Finalists show creative and innovative thinking From a junior road safety park to pest control and innovative service delivery, finalists in the 2018 Local Government New Zealand EXCELLENCE Awards span a broad range of outstanding council leadership initiatives. The Awards, now in their fifth year, recognise and celebrate excellent performance by councils with regard to best practice governance, asset management, community engagement, environmental impact, economic development, cultural vibrancy, and overall performance excellence and community outcomes. The Awards, along with the CouncilMARK™ excellence programme, share best practice with the sector. They demonstrate to both councils

and communities how to deliver ongoing and increased value and build excellence. From 75 applications, 22 finalists for six awards have been named, with winners to be announced at the LGNZ conference and awards dinner in Christchurch on 16 July. Visit lgnz.co.nz for more information on the finalists.

The 22 finalists in the LGNZ EXCELLENCE Awards 2018 are: Fulton Hogan EXCELLENCE Award for Community Engagement The finalists in this category have undertaken a project or programme that has made a positive impact on the community in their town, city, district or region and encouraged effective engagement and participation.

> > > >

Far North District Council – Nga Kuri Auau o Kaikohe Gisborne District Council - What’s the future Tairawhiti? Kaikoura District Council - The Hospo Project: Feeding the Village People Manurewa & Papakura Local Boards (Auckland Council) - Engagement to develop the Manurewa Takanini Papakura Integrated Area Plan > Palmerston North City Council - Junior Road Safety Park > Waipa District Council - Out of the Shadows: Bringing Waipa’s heritage to life > Wairoa District Council - The Wairoa Wastewater Stakeholder Group

EXCELLENCE Award for Best Practice in Governance, Leadership and Strategy These councils have made significant contributions towards innovative and successful local governance, leadership and strategy arrangements that have significantly affected a council’s culture, strategic direction or outcomes.

> Central Hawke’s Bay District Council - Project “Thrive” > Palmerston North City Council - Framing the Big Picture - A comprehensive integration of council strategy > Rotorua Lakes Council - Planning for a positive long-term future “the Rotorua way” > Waikato District Council - North Waikato Integrated Growth Management Programme Business Case

EXCELLENCE Award for Best Practice Contribution to Local Economic Development The finalists of this category have led, or are leading, a strategy, programme, delivering measurable actions and outcomes contributing to the economic advancement of their town, city, district or region.

> Waikato District Council - Te Awa River Ride - Ngaruawahia to Horotiu > Rotorua Lakes Council - Rotorua Inner City Revitalisation

EXCELLENCE Award for Best Practice in Service Delivery and Asset Management These councils have managed their service delivery and core infrastructure in a manner that meets best practice and has resulted in better economic, social and/or environmental outcomes for their town, city, district or region.

> Rotorua Lakes Council - Te Aka Mauri Library and Children’s Health Hub > Waipa District Council - RATA - Waikato Road Asset Technical Accord - A Collaboration in Strategic Road Asset Management Planning. > Wellington City Council - Water in an Emergency

Air New Zealand EXCELLENCE Award for Environmental Impact These finalist councils have developed a significant strategy, project or programme that has made a positive and measurable contribution to the quality of the environment in their city, town, district or region.

> Hawke’s Bay Regional Council - Heretaunga Plains Groundwater Model > Northland Regional Council - Marine Biosecurity Programme > Wellington City Council - Our Natural Capital

Creative New Zealand EXCELLENCE Award for Best Creative Place The finalists of this category have contributed to, or are contributing to, a more prosperous and vibrant town, city, district or region by incorporating arts and culture in local services, amenities and infrastructure.

> Palmerston North City Council - Palmerston North City Council Public Art Programme > Horowhenua District Council - Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom > Kapiti Coast District Council - Kapiti Arts Trail

EDITOR

Executive Performance Programmme The relationship between Chief Executive and Council is a critical contributing factor for successful communities. The quality of the relationship also allows the sector to retain and attract the best talent for its communities. A healthy professional relationship greatly assists with the delivery of positive outcomes and coordinated achievements. This provides clarity to ratepayers and citizens. The Executive Performance Programme, run by Equip’s independent Principal Associate and former Mayor of Whangarei Pamela Peters, is an invaluable opportunity to build and maintain strong working relationships between governance and management. It rewards both parties with the satisfaction of achieving strong community outcomes. Pamela is able to provide chief executives, senior management and councils with the necessary tools to confidently deliver effective results for New Zealand communities. Pamela is qualified in strengths-based assessments – she can also work directly with your CE in an on-going mentoring capacity to provide executive support and assist in identifying and resolving emerging issues before they escalate.

What can you expect from Pamela’s programme? Councils can expect a personalised and focussed approach to best practice, achievement and accountability throughout the year. Pamela will incorporate your governance direction, facilitate your annual review and provide support with your communications. She will provide you with ongoing support to realise the goals you have for effective relationships between governance and management, and success for your communities. This confidential and independent service is highly valued by Pamela’s clients. Pamela often becomes a trusted advisor to many councils and their Chief Executives. To ﬁnd out more about Pamela’s programme, please email equip@lgnz.co.nz.

< Expect a personalised and focussed approach to best practice, achievement and accountability throughout the year. > “This programme aims to achieve outcomes that are valued by the Council and community year after year; and to provide the mechanisms to optimise a CE’s use of their particular skills and talent.” ela Peters Pam

“Councils find the strengths based methodology valuable and the independent facilitation really helps foster productive and positive communication between the CE and elected member.”

t Necklen Scot

Let’s Talk Procurement For councils, the quality of services and their value for money is crucial in terms of community satisfaction and confidence. When so many of the services we provide to our communities come from external suppliers, how do we ensure that they best support our needs and represent our values to the community? The Need for Strong Procurement Local governments across NZ are focusing attention on strengthening organisational procurement processes and skills. Council leaders are realising the need to invest in procurement for what it can achieve in terms of balancing community outcomes and commercial performance in fastchanging and sometimes constrained supply markets. Procurement and contract management are strategic processes being recognised more and more as fundamental to organisational success. Increasingly, we are seeing good practice procurement in local government broaden to recognise the significant power it has in influencing positive change across areas such as the environment, employment for disadvantaged groups, and social impact in the local community. EquiP is partnering with ArcBlue Consulting starting in the second half of 2018 to deliver a proven, tailored and value-based procurement capability uplift program to councils across New Zealand.

So What is Good Practice Procurement? Many people in councils are involved in procurement, and good practice in procurement is the result of those people, processes, methods, tools and organisational strategy being aligned. If councils are to become more commercial and outcomes-focused, then ensuring procurement has a broader commercial perspective, and incorporating contract management and supply chain management is essential, as is a focus on commercial management, and on supplementing technical skills with behavioural skills in order to better engage with the wider organisation and supply markets. It requires a clear framework and simple processes, enabled through technology. Another key area of focus is spend analysis. About half of the financial cost of running a council goes to suppliers, so understanding your procurement spend is a key piece of the puzzle. It helps identify opportunities for

cost and efficiency improvement, gives meaning to supply-related conversations, and supports a business case for regional collaboration. One of the core functions of local government is to caretake for our local communities. To be successful in ‘social procurement’ requires intent and commitment, and often a change in mindset or a move away from doing ‘business as usual’. Setting targets as part of your strategy can be highly effective in driving behavioural change, and spend analytics can also be used to track and measure progress for social and employment-based initiatives in the community. The good practice procurement program for local government brought to you by EquiP and ArcBlue will combine a structured approach to organisational procurement capability, including spend analytics, collaboration across councils, and benchmarking, with an individual capability program that can include skills assessments, face-to-face training workshops, eLearning modules, coaching and mentoring.

The Time is Right This initiative will help councils with their Local Government Act Section 17a ‘Value for Money’ obligations and is timely too – in respect of the intention of the OAG’s forthcoming procurement review, the government’s shift to measure national performance using the Living Standards Framework, and the focus of the current Local Government (Community Wellbeing) Amendment Bill.

Find Out More EquiP, LGNZ’s Centre of Excellence, delivers best practice guidance, business solutions and management support, and has partnered with ArcBlue Consulting as the Asia-Pacific region’s leading procurement consulting and training organisation, to bring specialist expertise to support the local government sector. More information will follow, but if you would like to attend a webinar or find out more please contact equip.pd@lgnz.co.nz or Dave Nellist at dave.nellist@arcblue.co.nz.

The Final Word Transitioning to a low-emissions economy LGNZ’s perspective on a transition to a low emissions economy. The Productivity Commission is now close to finalising its report of findings and recommendations on how New Zealand can transition to a lowemissions economy. Its draft report, released in April 2018, recognises that New Zealand’s land use will need to change substantially if we are to transition to a low-emissions economy. LGNZ acknowledges that significant and bold change will be needed if real progress is to be made, and if New Zealand is to fulfil the commitments it has made under the Paris Agreement. Notwithstanding the significant change that will be required, LGNZ views the transition as an opportunity. It is an opportunity for investment, job creation, skills development, innovation and the development of new technology. It’s an opportunity to do things differently and to do them better. LGNZ is confident that the transition has the potential to deliver not only emissions reductions but other benefits as well, such as reduced congestion on roads, quality healthy homes, improved environmental outcomes, better urban design and reductions in waste to landfill, among other things. A recent report commissioned by Westpac Bank has found that the economy would benefit by $30 billion by 2050 if government and business take early action on climate change. LGNZ agrees with the Productivity Commission’s recommendation that the transition to a low-emissions economy must be a priority area of focus for innovation, research and development in New Zealand. The transition presents opportunities for New Zealand to develop cutting-edge emissions reduction technologies, and to demonstrate leadership to the rest of the world, particularly in areas such as agriculture and transport. LGNZ ultimately agrees that significant changes in the way we use land have to be part of the solution, and that it is likely that agriculture will, at some stage, need to be incorporated into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) if emissions are to reduce substantially.

However, LGNZ has expressed a number of cautions to the Productivity Commission and the Government about how it brings agriculture into the ETS. Agriculture is after all the backbone of the New Zealand economy, and many of our communities are reliant on agriculture for their ongoing prosperity and sustainability. Including agriculture in the ETS will have impacts on regional economic development, population levels and patterns of settlement, with flow on impacts for councils’ rating bases. LGNZ has made clear its view that there is a need for: > The communities that will be impacted to be involved in the decision-making process; > Careful planning for and management of the impacts of a decision to include agriculture into the ETS, including through the provision of appropriate mitigations that will support rural communities through the transition; > Consideration of viable transition paths to alternative industries; and > Any decision to include agriculture in the ETS to be underpinned by a strong evidential basis and careful analysis. As well as the need for land use change, driven by changes to the ETS, LGNZ believes that the Productivity Commission’s report needs to identify the potential of efficient land use planning as a means of delivering emissions reductions. In its submission, LGNZ has encouraged the Productivity Commission to promote compact urban form and to recommend that legislative provision be made for regional spatial planning. Both are tools that would support councils to contribute to emissions reductions, as well as delivering other co-benefits. Communities need to be ready for and embrace the challenges and opportunities that the transition presents.

< It is an opportunity for investment, job creation, skills development, innovation and the development of new technology. >

T+T and Lutra team up for safe drinking water Tonkin + Taylor and Lutra have joined forces to offer a new end-to-end solution for water suppliers that will provide a robust and efficient risk management system for groundwater and surface water supplies. This offering is based on the leading-edge work that both organisations have performed for Hastings District Council in response to the Havelock North incident. Tonkin + Taylor – Are pioneers of integrated catchment risk management as well as having an unparalleled track record in new source developments. T+T also provide a wide range of engineering, environmental and project management services from source to tap. Lutra – Are specialist water process engineers who provide process optioneering, process design, process optimisation and commissioning services. Lutra also provide state of the art operator training systems and through their Infrastructure Data on-line compliance reporting system can support end-to-end management of water supply risk.

Our leaders Tony Cussins - Technical Director, Hydrogeology Tony is an expert in contaminant hydrogeology and human health and environmental risk assessment. This role requires him to work closely alongside clients to ensure they are empowered to make optimal decisions on sensitive, technically complex projects. Email: tcussins@tonkintaylor.co.nz Tel: +64 27 705 1368 Dr Jason Colton - Principal Process Engineer Jason is an expert in water treatment design, commissioning, operation and optimisation. He has a track record of maximising the use of existing assets and providing cost effective solutions for clients. Email: Jason.colton@lutra.com Tel: +64 27 607 0302

Summary of experience: • T+T has undertaken numerous source risk assessments, led HDC’s investigations into the source of Campylobacter contamination and contributed to investigations into Lower Hutt’s Waiwhetu Aquifer contamination • Lutra provides water treatment and data management services to HDC and many other clients • The combined skills of this team cover every aspect of security of groundwater supplies, including strategies for catchment management and the option of treatment and disinfection as a barrier • We are happy to discuss implications for Councillors, Councils’ executive leadership teams, asset and water supply managers

Future focussed

Working Working together together as as one one global global team, team, we we combine combine 90 90 years years of of experience with innovative practices and technical capabilities experience with innovative practices and technical capabilities to to solve our clients’ challenges. solve our clients’ challenges. We We are are firmly firmly focussed focussed on on the the future future and and proud proud to to sponsor sponsor the the 2018 LGNZ Conference. 2018 LGNZ Conference. To To connect connect with with us, us, visit visit www.ghd.com www.ghd.com

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