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Te Niaotanga ō Mataatua ō Te Arawa Matatā Wastewater

Te Tauihu o te Waka – “Navigating the bow of the canoe, in the right direction, together”

What's the story?

Through kaitiakitanga practises, the iwi of Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Rangitihi, and Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau have had a long-standing connection with the Tarawera Awa, their ancestral lands, wāhi tapu (sacred areas), and locations of cultural and spiritual importance.

The township of Matatā descends in the direction of Te Awa o Te Atua.  The vast wetland that borders and surrounds Te Awa o te Atua has traditionally served as a habitat for many species, including inanga and tuna.

The Waitepuru and Te Awatarariki, two perennial streams that emerge from the hills, run from the township’s relatively high-water table. A rich tapestry of important culturally significant sites and wāhi tapu adorns Matatā’s larger environment.

Ngāti Rangitihi, Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau and Ngāti Awa, the tangata whenua of this rohe, have an obligation inherited from their tupuna to protect, maintain, and/or restore these sites of cultural importance to ensure that present and future activities, of any kind, do not negatively affect the mauri and mana of these important areas.

Wastewater treatment and land applications graphic
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Project Journey infographic
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Project Milestones Infographic
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What's the story? Document Cover Thumbnail
What's the story? - (PDF, 1MB)

Our why

Matatā doesn’t have a reticulated wastewater system, and individual properties rely on existing on-site septic tanks, which in some cases are failing.

These failures are contributing to public health risks and degradation of the environment, particularly Te Awa o Te Atua (Matatā lagoon), which is why local iwi and hapū are working together with Council to develop a fit-for-purpose Matatā wastewater system.

Learning from the past

While previous resource management attempts to improve the system have been unsuccessful, we now have a dedicated Te Niaotanga ō Mataatua ō Te Arawa Co-Design Group and Project Technical Team tasked with learning from the past and developing an effective solution through a genuine co-design approach.

A significant amount of work was undertaken on the previous projects, including two desk top reviews. These review processes reviewed relevant past information, reports and data to ensure the current technical team could learn from the past and inform future project phases. The two desk top reviews included both technical engineering and environmental science perspectives.

Co-design

Co-design entails designing with the people of Matatā, rather than for them. The Matatā Wastewater co-design group is made up of iwi and hapū representatives from Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust, Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, and Ngāti Awa through its hapū Ngai Te Rangihouhiri, Ngāti Hikakino and Te Tawera, to work collaboratively with the Council to co-design a solution.

Community engagement has occurred to date through regular updates to the resident association as well through the Matatā Matters pānui. As the project moves more into the options phase this year, wider opportunities for community feedback and discussion will be planned. While the co-design partners offer direction, advice and recommendations on the preferred option, the final decision on that option statutorily remains with Council.

Hikoi attendees at Otaramuturangi, 5 July 2022
Hikoi attendees at Otaramuturangi, 5 July 2022.

The project...

Will have significant outcomes for the Matatā community in having an efficient wastewater system.

Matatā Wastewater FAQs - (PDF,300 KB)

This project will provide a safe and reliable wastewater system, but it will also contribute to other key outcomes, including:

Environmental and public health outcomes

We know the environment plays a big part in people's health and wellbeing. The new system will improve water quality and ecology in local rivers, drains, Te Awa o Te Atua (Matatā lagoon) and the Tarawera Awa. It will also contribute to restoring ground and surface water impacts that have occurred as a result from people’s wastewater septic tanks. Supporting tangata whenua to improve environmental outcomes for the whenua and wai and to restore the awa.

Environmental Monitoring Plan

In the early stages of the project, an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) was developed to form a robust monitoring programme that could describe the existing environment and provide a baseline for future monitoring of the relevant receiving environments.

Surface and groundwater quality is monitored at various sites within the township and surrounds for a range of parameters, including physicochemical (e.g., dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity), nutrients (e.g., nitrate-N, ammoniacal-N, dissolved reactive phosphorus, and total nitrogen and phosphorus) and faecal indicator bacteria (e.g., E. coli and Enterococci).). In addition, periodic Faecal Source Tracking (FST) analysis was undertaken on three occasions in 2022 and bi-monthly from 2023 onwards to identify the origins of faecal contamination.

Surface water sites selected for sampling include five sites within or upstream of the Matatā township, three sites along the Tarawera River (including one BOPRC monitoring site), two BOPRC monitoring sites in the Matatā Lagoon and a single site which is included in BOPRC’s On-Site Effluent Testing (OSET) programme. These sites have been monitored monthly since November 2021 and seven groundwater bores have been monitored since March 2022.

Check out our monitoring maps below:

Cultural outcomes

The restoration of the Mauri of Tarawera Awa ki Te Awa o Te Atua is at the heart of Ngāti Rangitihi’s 2022 Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlement with the Crown. The Tarawera Awa Restoration Strategy Group, which was established as part of Ngāti Rangitihi's historical claims, is comprised of one representative from each of the four iwi with an interest in the awa (Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Mākino, and Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau), and one representative from each of the three relevant local authorities, and Bay of Plenty Regional Council. They exist to support, co-ordinate and promote the integrated restoration of the mauri of the catchment. The creation and execution of the Tarawera Awa Restoration Strategy Document (the Strategy Document) is their primary focus.

Celebrating our cultural richness

The area of Matatā has a rich history. Through kaitiakitanga practises, the iwi of Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Rangitihi, and Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau have had a long-standing connection with the Tarawera Awa, their ancestral lands, wāhi tapu (sacred areas), and locations of cultural and spiritual importance.

Read more about the area's cultural richness - (PDF, 500 KB)

Long term growth and futureproofing

The Whakatāne District and Eastern Bay of Plenty are growing, and with an increase in residents wanting to call the district home, we must ensure we have the right infrastructure in place to support. It means Council must start laying the foundations now, but also look to the future and prepare and plan for the next 20, 50 and even 100 years, to ensure future generations have a place they’re proud to call home, with appropriate infrastructure supporting them.

Sustainable and resilient

Central to managing risks, hazards and resilience is ensuring we have the right infrastructure in place, which is safe, supports community wellbeing and can respond to emerging risks such as climate change. By making sure investment is made up front with a short-medium- and long-term view in mind means we will have an asset that supports communities for the next 20, 50 and 100 years.


Media

April 2023 - Steady progress being made on Matatā Wastewater project

The Matatā Wastewater project is progressing steadily with the project currently focused on environmental monitoring and identifying preferred discharge sites.

Read the full media release »

Matatā Matters


Historical updates

March 2016 - Integrated wastewater solution progress reported

A field trip to investigate two integrated wastewater schemes has confirmed that the proposal to link a new Matatā reticulation system with upgraded wastewater treatment facilities in Edgecumbe and Whakatāne, with a common ocean outfall, would provide an effective solution for all three communities.

Further information is available in the media release »

2015 progress update

The Project and Services Committee, at its meeting on 2 July 2015, received a report on the Matatā wastewater project. That report proposed a programme of work to investigate other options for the supply of a Matatā community wastewater system, including consideration of any opportunities identified through the preliminary work in the District Wastewater Strategy review project. This report provides an update on the investigations of other options and proposes a pathway forward involving consultation and funding partner engagement.

More information is available in the report below.

Matatā Wastewater Options and Wastewater Strategy - (PDF, 1.45 MB)

Matatā Wastewater Scheme progress update - October 2015 - (PDF, 422 KB)

2014 progress update

March

Resource consents and land designations application were lodged with Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Whakatāne District Council respectively and notified on 20 December 2013. Submissions closed on 10 Feb 2014.

11 submissions were received, including one late submission. Six submissions are opposing submissions.

Council’s staff is carrying on Matatā property visits to design wastewater house connections and carry out electrical audits of properties to assess connection of grinder pumps. By the end of March, most properties will have been visited. Property owners will receive letters with agreed grinder pump unit localisation drawings and requests to grant entry.

No physical works will be carried until resource consents and land designations are granted, but Council is progressing with preparatory works to secure Ministry of Health subsidy for the scheme.

Supporting documentation

January

The newsletter below outlines progress on the Matatā Wastewater Project, including information on resource consents, pressure sewer systems, and connection details for the reticulation network.

Matatā Wastewater Newsletter - January 2014 - (PDF, 523 KB)

2013 consultation

Consultation on Matatā sewerage scheme options was open between 11 March and 12 April 2013. The outcome of the Matatā Sewerage Scheme consultation will feed into the Annual Plan 2013/14.

Documents relevant to the consultation are listed below.

2012 review

In early June 2012, the Whakatāne District Council initiated a review of the wastewater reticulation scheme which has been proposed for Matatā since 2004.  

Below you will find the full report on the findings of the review which were reported to Council on 1 August 2012. A summary of these findings and the results of a questionnaire residents were asked to complete can also be downloaded below.

For any other information, email us at MatataWastewaterProject@whakatane.govt.nz