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Unable to be in more than one place at once as the head ofan efficient governing body, popular Palmerston North Citymayor Jono Naylor (left) is nonetheless sympathetic when itcomes to Tokomarus water problems; at the same timetaking into account the HDCS present financial difficulties.Feasibility and financial issues have to be worked throughbefore giving the final nod to piping water from Linton along

highway 57 to Tokomaru Village. But it wasnt an outright no when Christine Tomsvisited the main man in his office on 9 J uly.

In stark contrast to the HDCs rattled responses, mayor Naylor had done his homeworkregarding the possibility of extending the pipeline to a kilometre within Horowhenuasboundary. In a previous email, mayor Duffy said he was upset that Tokomaru residentshad taken (the water issue) out of the District in publishing its water woes. But it waslater disclosed that Mr Duffy had already visited mayor Naylor in PN Central for talksabout Tokomarus water crisis and other issues.

On the subject of absorbing Tokomaru into the Palmerston North region, mayor Naylorwas less enthusiastic. Recent additions Bunnythorpe and Ashhurst boosted strategicvalue in zoned industrial land for Palmerston North, which wouldnt apply to the smallborder settlement of Tokomaru. Putting it bluntly, mayor Naylor said the Village had

nothing of particular interest to the 85,000-people city. But that did not excludeTokomaru from further discussions regarding drinking water supply.

We believe its necessary for the people of Tokomaru to have good quality drinkingwater and wed be happy to look at providing that social need, if we can, he says.

Funding may need to come from Central Government for Tokomarus compliant water.But this must happen soon to prevent a local boil-water disgrace becoming a medicalcatastrophe. Sign the petition, choose your candidates well and vote in the upcomingHDC election. Above all, know that good quality water is a New Zealand right and notjust a luxury for the few.

Its not all gloom:Got a good story to tell? Let us know your news, views and upcoming events.

Nominations close on 16 August for voting in the next local government and DistrictHealth Board elections 20 Sept to 12 Oct. We hope to publish meet-the-candidatesevents in the coming weeks. Voting means you have a say, whatever the outcome.

PN mayor looks at Tokomaru suppl y

TokomaruStore &

Takeaways

Orders welcome. Ph 329 8711

Steamed Up is a free monthlyindependent newsletter for theTokomaru Village community.Our aim is to inform the public

about electoral issues and other concernsregarding the Horowhenua District. Contact:Christine.toms@xtra.co.nz. Ph 329 8081

Most five-year-old kids hope that when they spill somethingdown their T-shirt it will wash off. But in the final countdown tolocal elections, its becoming clear that the indelible marks leftbehind by the Horowhenua District Council over arrogant anddismissive handling of Tokomarus town drinking water wontever wear off.

At the RSA meeting on 4 J une, the communitys main prioritywas compliant drinking water. This followed the HDCs abandonment of the promisedjoint-Shannon upgrade currently under way, leaving Tokomaru to boil drinking/cooking

water until 2025! Trying to redress this major upheaval in Tokomaru residents liveswould be farcical, if it wasnt so serious. A similar emergency boil water notice wasthrown at Shannon and Tokomaru three years ago two years, 11 months and threeweeks longer than such emergency measures will work, say Civil Defence. But thepresence of Protozoa (giardia and cryptosporidium) and above 50% health safetythreshold Dichloroacetate and Trichloroacetate levels are sufficient for national testingagency ESR ChCh to issue E and D grade warnings for Tokomarus now permanentlynon compliant drinking water. While other areas in the Horowhenua have E and D gradewater, none have boil water notifications for the next decade or so.

Unable to figure out why the HDC has placed a 10-year three-minute rolling boil water(now until 2025) notice for Tokomarus town supply, ESR HOD Barry Mattingly said:That doesnt make sense. You dont issue a boil water notice if youre chlorinating thewater! All overtures to mayor Brendan Duffy and the HDC have been met with thecharacteristic stand-off; in spite of declarations on the HDCs website to immediatelyremediate all non compliant water.

Meanwhile, a petition held at the Tokomaru Store has been signed by over half the 140homes in the Village. Signatories call on Prime Minister John Key and the Ministers ofHealth and Local Government to immediately address our water supply dilemma.

Tokomaru residents thank reporter Kelsey Fletcher at the Manawatu Standard, editorRichard Mays of The Tribune and other newspapers for excellent media coverage.Thanks also to Shirrell and Mike Davis at Tokomaru Store for their continued help.Sign the petition before its presented to Parliament. Call into the Store and becounted.

Steamed UpJuly 2013 Issue 1

Rebecca Louth

Council problems

not water soluble

Featuring Tokomaru Village news and views

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Bore-dom?While most of the Village is on town drinking supply, rural residents have their ownprivate and unlimited clean water from bores which permeate Tokomaru, Theres a bitof discolouration on the tea cups from time to time due to the iron content, but other-wise the waters fine, says Esma Stevenson.

Tokomaru School shares the same bore with the Stevensons, Tokomaru Store and anadjacent property. Boiling water for 60 school children every day would be a nightmare.Principal J ared Ratana says bore water is used for the swimming pool, otherwise

theyre on allegedly safe town supply. I bring water from home in Palmerston Northand the kids bring their own water bottles, he says. Another bore sited in Rata Streetcaused a few problems when the road was sealed, but water there is still as good asever.

Water fil ters:At the 4 J une meeting mayor Duffy immediately turned down water filters for Tokomaruhomes, saying they would cost $2,000 each. However, the HDC recently made movesto install a single water filter on one of the drinking fountains in the playground andthere are plans to include another single filter at the Early Childhood Centre. Therewas no response to suggestions that Villagers could line up and fill their containersfrom filtered water from either of these two places. Reasonably priced filters are stillunder private investigation.

Where does Tokomaru town supply dri nking water come from?Direct from Horseshoe Bend River. This in turn comes from Shannon dam tributaries,behind which forestry felling is taking place. In 2004 the HDC and Downer installedtreatment facilities including intermittent chlorination. However, according to a RiskManagement Plan, all health contingencies in Tokomaru water are at best limited.The Councils greatest real fear, while refusing point blank to address non compliantwater, is an outbreak of illness in the community and subsequent bad publicity!

Whats wrong with the water?

Nothing, as long as you dont drink and cook with it! Protozoa-containing waterbornediseases such as giardia and cryptosporidium produce in some cases severe intestinalupsets and require urgent medical attention. Cryptosporidium can also be transmittedthrough human contact, i.e. you or your child can catch crypto from another personwho has been involved in contaminated water. While the young and not-so-young andpeople with chronic illnesses are more vulnerable, dogs are also susceptible to crypto.Dichloroacetate and Trichloroacetate are chemical contaminations winning ESR P2ratings in our water. Thought to be due to chlorination combined with sludge, i.e. plantand animal material, DCA/TCA in Tokomarus water supply can be caused by tanninsfrom forestry felling. ESR J ackie Ritchie told Christine Toms that these levels are overthe 50% health safety threshold. Excessive DCA and TCA levels are known to causeliver cancer and neurological effects in laboratory tests.

Mid Central Health Protection Unit, paid to impel local authorities to remediate badwater, advises that due to a loop hole the HDC can get away with doing nothing forTokomaru. We can do nothing, says manager Peter Wood.

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Then who can?

From a lack of funding to a recent deprivation clause, theresponse from Council to Tokomaru Villages abandonedwater upgrade is get lost.

Skys the li mit in Manhattan table:Since she discovered the HDC is ranked 66 out of 67 in LarryMitchell's League Tables for financial sustainability, mayoraltycandidate and three-terms Kere Kere Councillor Anne Hunthas among other things been working on a comprehensiverecovery plan, based on her research on local government.They totted up the costs of $140m to repair water and wastewater in the District and threw their hands up in horror! To look good on the books,mayor Duffy and the Council drew up a Manhattan (bar) table and spread these costsover 20 years says Anne. Tokomarus water crisis was thus thrown into this too-hardbasket. Her strengths in infrastructure, finance, governance and legal comprehensionmake Anne the only mayoralty-hopeful in Horowhenuas struggle to repay $36m debt.

It shouldnt have happened! The Horowhenua is a good mix of urban and rural areasand were by no means the smallest region. In 2004 we were almost debt-free, butwere now in so much debt because of bad choices.

The former journalist, writer and mother with extensive experience in local governmentdoesnt suffer fools gladly when it comes to bad decisions affecting other peopleslives. As a result of blow-outs and mismanagement, she says rates could sky-rocketseriously impacting residents and potentially send some small businesses to the wall.A lack of consultation, unapproved consents and favouritism have further dilutedHorowhenuas credibility. An unhealthy climate of secret meetings and decreasingtransparency have crept into negotiations throughout the region, including Tokomaru.Nobody says it will be easy, but Anne says she has evolved a strategy to help work theDistrict out of the mess.

A strong supporter of Sam Probert, Anne turned up to witness the shameful act of theelderly disabled man evicted from his Council flat by six policemen on the HDCsbehalf, for refusing to pay the unreasonably hiked rent.

Keen to see closer co-operation between HDC councillors and valued staff, Anne islooking forward to assembling a proactive team with enthusiastic committees who wantto spend their energies on working well together. People who compliment each othersstrengths for the good of the communities they are paid to represent. The only fights inCouncil from here on in should be battling our way out of crippling debt and negativity.

Anne Hunt

ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!Water, infrastruct ure, business development, financial securit y, education,

recreation, co mmunity excellence are only a pen-stroke away.

Vote Anne Hunt for Mayor20 Sept to 12 Oct