Listen Now: 
Horowhenua District Council says discharging Foxton's wastewater on Matakarapa Island in the Manawatu River could benefit Maori.
Ngati Whakatere and other Horowhenua and Manawatu iwi oppose the plan approved last week because they fear urupa on the island will be sprayed.
But infrastructure services group manager Gallo Saidy says there is enough land on the island to irrigate without going near burial sites.
He says the council is offering to work with iwi to identify sites, protect them and give them access.
Submitters said Maori have been unable to access the burial sites because they were on private land, but people had in the past snuck onto the island to clean graves and clear grass from them.
Development of the plant could mean a new bridge to the island.
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
