Ōmāpere stormwater upgrade issues approved

Resolving unknowable site issues has driven up the cost of the Ōmāpere Stormwater Upgrade Project requiring an additional $70,000 to be approved by the council, which was passed under public exclusion during its meeting on Thursday 25 September.

Site conditions – including a power cable lying directly over the proposed pipe location – were not known at the time the project contract was awarded. Additional works have also been needed to address easement conditions. Both issues have caused delays to the project start and required modifications to the works and project scope.

Resolving the issues and their knock-on effects has taken the project costs from $1.37m to $1.46m. As the overall project costs exceed $1m, the council is required to approve the project increase.

Site issues requiring modifications to the designed stormwater system included:

• Moving pipe alignment
• Additional site clearance
• Removal of additional overburden
• Reinstatement of a swale drain and appropriate remediation (not included in the original design)
• Change to SH12 asphalt pavement detail to meet Waka Kotahi NZTA engineering standards
• Relocation of manhole 6 and cesspit
• Concrete cap to protect pipe to council engineering standards.

Due to these changes, the project’s planned start date of 7 April 2025 was delayed to 28 April.