July 07, 2020
Auckand trust fund will help clean Waikato River
Auckland mayor Phil Goff says the super city has received a good outcome from its jousting over increasing its take from the Waikato River.
The council got push back from Waikato Tainui and the Waikato Regional Council, but the Government has now fast tracked its consent application, and Hamilton has agreed to give Auckland some of its unused allocaton over summer.
Mr Goff says the trade-in is Auckland will contribute more towrard the cleaning up of the awa, which he acknowledges is in a poor state.
"Septic tanks leak into it, effluent from the dairy farms, partially treated sewage from some of the towns and cities. We want to do something about that. We want to stop the siltation of the river. So we will set up a trust fund, we'll be part of the solution, not the problem, and Waikato will in turn work with us to make sure that we can get through this really difficult period that Auckland is facing at this present time," he says.
Mayor Goff says a suggestion from the Waikato River Authority that Auckland pay 10 cents a litre or up to $20 million a day for its water was challenged and is now dead in the water.
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