Photograph and information courtesy of Auckland Council.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FOR OUR INDUSTRY.
New compliance system for Auckland septic tanks
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provide regular inspection records verifying their systems are in good working condition. “This compliance system gives us more confidence septic tanks are being properly maintained and if they don’t meet safety standards, we can act more quickly to ensure they’re fixed,” says Auckland Council Senior Healthy Waters Specialist Lizzie Johnson. An app-based form to record new data from external contractors who clean and inspect septic tanks for property owners has now also been developed, with the information automatically updating the corresponding property file in the compliance system. “By giving us accurate and consistent information within hours of an inspection, this system will go a long way to help us reduce public health risks from wastewater and improve our water quality,” says Johnson.
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Launched in November last year, Auckland Council’s onsite wastewater compliance system is the first local government system of its kind in New Zealand, ensuring that septic tanks across the region are regularly inspected and maintained. To develop the compliance system, all onsite wastewater systems had first to be located and consistent information collected on their type, condition and maintenance history. It took the Council’s Healthy Waters and Proactive Compliance teams two years to capture this information across the region—from Franklin to Rodney and on Waiheke, Great Barrier and Kawau islands— with data from 45,000 properties eventually collected and migrated into the new system. Under the Auckland Unitary Plan, owners of properties with onsite wastewater systems must
Auckland Council located and captured information on 45,000 onsite wastewater systems to create its new compliance system.
By industry, construction had the largest change in the number of filled jobs in December 2021 compared to December 2020, with an 8.3 percent increase (15,430 jobs).
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