Bylaw No. 29 - Waiheke Wastewater 2008
Explanatory note
This bylaw seeks to ensure that septic tanks and
domestic wastewater treatment systems in use on Waiheke Island
are installed and maintained in a manner which prevents the failure
of the system to operate effectively.
The bylaw requires that sufficient detail is provided
with a building consent application so that the council can determine
whether or not the treatment system will operate in a satisfactory manner.
The council by agreement with the Auckland Regional Council may
approve systems designed in accordance with the permitted activity
requirements for sewage treatment and disposal systems in the
Auckland Regional Plan: Air, Land and Water.
This bylaw requires property owners who have a
septic tank or domestic wastewater treatment system that accumulates
solids, to have such tanks or systems pumped out once every three years
to remove settled solids. The purpose of this is to remove the
build-up of settled solids, which can reduce the efficiency of
the tank/system's operation. If a tank system becomes full of settled
solid, these can be carried over into disposal fields, leading
to blockage and failure of the fields and leakage of the disposal
system, which may cause water pollution or health nuisances. This bylaw
requires that the property owner provide access to septic tanks
and treatment plants and disposal systems, so that they can be
maintained in good working order. The council may grant an exemption
from the requirement to have a septic tank or system pumped out every
three years, if it is satisfied that there will be no foreseeable
problems in doing so. In granting such an exemption, the council
may request all necessary information for it to make a decision. In
granting an exemption, the Council may also set such conditions
as are appropriate.
This bylaw also allows the Council to make the
necessary inspections and investigations to determine the location
and condition of domestic wastewater treatment systems and to determine
whether the system is operating correctly. In situations where the council
believes that the treatment system is unlikely to be working
correctly, the council may require the owner to have the septic
tank or system pumped out or to have the necessary repairs made to the
treatment and disposal system.
It is important to note however that domestic wastewater
treatment systems do have a finite life and parts or all of the
system may ultimately need to be replaced.
Reprinted with amendments
As at 09 October 2009 the Auckland City Council Waiheke Wastewater
Bylaw 2008 has been amended by the following amendments:
Waiheke Wastewater Bylaw Amendment No 1 of 2009
Amendments as a result of the introduction of the Auckland City Council Bylaw Administration Bylaw 2009, which came into force 09 October 2009.
Contents
Scope
29.0 Definition
29.1 Disposal within the confines of each property
29.2 Consent applications for domestic wastewater treatment
systems
29.3 Installation and repair of domestic wastewater treatment
systems
29.4 Testing and commissioning
29.5 Maintenance of domestic wastewater treatment
29.6 Investigation
Schedule of Amendments
Amendment No 1 of 2009 (17k PDF)
Scope
This bylaw shall apply only to Waiheke Island.
29.0 Definitions
In this bylaw unless the context otherwise requires:
Authorised officer means an officer authorised by
the council to administer and enforce specific aspects of this bylaw.
Code compliance certificate means a certificate issued
by a building consent authority under section 95 of the Building Act
2004.
Domestic wastewater means wastewater originating from
toilets, urinals, kitchens, bathrooms, showers, baths, basins and laundries.
Domestic wastewater treatment system means any hydraulic
and/or mechanical system using chemical and/or biological processes
to break down domestic wastewater into less harmful constituents designed,
installed and operated in accordance with ARC Technical Publication
58 "On-site wastewater systems: design and management manual" August
2004. A domestic wastewater treatment system may include a septic tank
or a treatment plant and its associated land disposal systems including
soakage or evaporation fields. .
Septic tank means a single or multiple chambered tank
through which wastewater is allowed to flow slowly to permit suspended
matter to settle and be retained, so that organic matter contained therein
can be decomposed (digested) by anaerobic bacterial action in the liquid.
Treatment plant means any plant or equipment not being
a septic tank used for the breakdown of domestic wastewater using mechanical
and/or hydraulic methods.
29.1 Disposal within the confines of each property
On-site disposal
29.1.1
All wastewater generated on an allotment
shall be disposed of within the confines of that allotment unless otherwise
approved by the Council and the Auckland Regional Council.
29.2 Consent applications for domestic wastewater treatment
systems
29.2.1
Owners of properties who wish to install
a domestic wastewater treatment system on their properties shall apply
for a building consent in terms of the Building Act 2004.
Application for building consent
29.2.2
A building consent application to install
a domestic wastewater treatment system shall include such details as
may be required by the council to assess its compliance with the Building
Code, the requirements of the Auckland Regional Plan: Air, Land and
Water, (ALWP) and the following:
- The procedures for the testing, commissioning,
operation and maintenance of the system;
- The size and contours and intended use of
the site;
- Soil conditions including permeability and
stability;
- Vegetative cover;
- Ground water and surface water conditions;
- Location of existing and future buildings
(including water tanks), parking areas and driveways;
- Access for maintenance of septic tanks and
disposal areas;
- The position of adjacent streams and waterways;
- A soil profile test outlining the soil types
encountered to a depth of 1.5 metres or groundwater depth by means of
a suitably sized borehole or test pit.
The council may within the period prescribed by
the Building Act require the owner to provide more information
to determine whether or not the domestic wastewater treatment system
will meet the requirements of the Building Code.
The Auckland Regional Plan: Air, Land and Water
requires all domestic wastewater treatment systems to be designed,
installed and operated in accordance with Auckland Regional Council’s
Technical Publication 58 (TP 58): On-site Wastewater Systems:
Design and Management Manual. Appendix E of TP58 contains an
on-site wastewater disposal site evaluation investigation checklist.
Council will also have regard to the requirements of this appendix
when assessing building consent applications to install domestic
wastewater treatment systems.
Granting of consent
29.2.3
After considering an application for a
building consent, the council shall grant the consent if it is satisfied
on reasonable grounds that:
- the provisions of the Building Code
and
- the permitted activity standards for domestic
wastewater treatment systems in the ALWP,
would be met, if the work on the domestic wastewater
treatment system was completed in accordance with the plans and specifications
submitted with the application.
The council may accept producer statements from
approved persons for the design and construction of domestic
wastewater treatment systems.
Wastewater treatment systems that do not comply
with the permitted activity status in the ALWP must be approved
by the Auckland Regional Council before the can be installed. Once
approved the installation of the system will still require a
building consent from Auckland City Council.
As-built plans
29.2.4
The council shall not provide a code compliance
certificate for a domestic wastewater treatment system until the owner
has provided the council with a copy of the as-built plans of the completed
installation.
29.3 Installation and repair of domestic wastewater
treatment systems
29.3.1
The installation, alteration or repair
of all domestic wastewater treatment systems involving septic tanks
and underground pipelines shall be undertaken by a registered drainlayer.
Notifying Council
29.3.2
All new domestic wastewater treatment systems
and any alterations to existing systems shall be inspected by an authorised
officer before being covered up.
29.4 Testing and Commissioning
29.4.1
New domestic wastewater treatment systems
shall be tested and commissioned according to any conditions that the
council may include in a building consent.
29.5 Maintenance of domestic wastewater treatment systems
29.5.1
The owner of any property which contains
a domestic wastewater treatment system shall ensure that at all times
access is available:
- To the treatment system or septic tank
so that it can be easily opened for the purposes of cleaning, removal
of settled solids and maintenance;
- To any disposal field or disposal system
so that it can be maintained in good working order.
29.5.2
Domestic wastewater treatment systems shall
be maintained and operated in such a manner to prevent any discharge
of wastewater onto the surface of any land or into any water body.
Pump out required
29.5.3
Except as otherwise provided in clause 29.5.5 all property owners on Waiheke Island
whose property contains a septic tank or domestic wastewater treatment
system that accumulates solids, shall have that septic tank or system
pumped out to remove all settled solids at least once every 36 months.
The property owner shall provide a copy of the receipt for having this
work done to the Waiheke Service Centre of the Auckland City Council
within 14 days of the tank being pumped out.
Every person undertaking the removal of settled
solids from domestic wastewater treatment systems and septic
tanks shall comply with the provisions of section 54 (offensive trades)
of the Health Act 1956.
Inspection after pump out
29.5.4
An authorised officer of the council may
enter any property and inspect any septic tank or domestic wastewater
treatment system that accumulates solids, to check the condition of
the septic tank or the treatment system and to determine whether any
recent removal of settled solids has occurred in a satisfactory manner.
Exemptions
29.5.5
Property owners may apply to the council
for an exemption from the requirement of clause 29.5.3. The council may require from the owner
such information as is necessary to determine whether or not to grant
an exemption. In granting an exemption the council may set such conditions
as it shall think fit.
Dispensations may be granted for reasons such as
the use of the facilities are not used on a regular basis and
the accumulation of solids is sufficiently low as to provide good operating
capacity for periods exceeding three years.
29.6 Investigation
29.6.1
An authorised officer may undertake such
inspections and investigations as are reasonably necessary to establish
the dimensions, location and condition of any domestic wastewater treatment
system.
Remedial work
29.6.2
Where the council considers that a domestic
wastewater treatment system is
- not operating in accordance with
- the Building Act or Building Code,
or
- the conditions of a building consent, or
- the Auckland Regional Plan: Air, Land and
Water, or is
- not operating in a sanitary and efficient
manner, or
- it is likely to be contaminating a neighbouring
property or a water source
then the council may require the owner to:
- clean the system or pump out any settled
solids in the system; or
- repair or maintain the treatment system
to meet the above requirements.
Schedule of Amendments
Amendment No 1 of 2009 (17k PDF) to the Waiheke Wastewater Bylaw
