CLOSER RELATIONS: Representatives from Whakatane District Council and Ngati Awa meet at the Paul Road bore to improve relations between the two groups. Photo Louis Klaassen D4257-13
RECENTLY, the relationship between Whakatane District Council and Maori from Te Teko was at breaking point over water.
Now, the two groups are sharing information and hoping for a brighter future.
Previously, houses in Te Teko received water from a bore on Tahuna Road and Braemar Springs, the latter source containing naturally-occurring arsenic.
However, when Te Teko people found out the council was planning to bypass them and pump arsenic-free water from a bore at Paul Road to Awakeri and Edgecumbe, they became enraged.
They launched a series of protests and monopolised meetings, determined to force the council to hear their concerns.
Eventually, the council conceded and now water from Paul Road will be pumped to houses in Te Teko and Edgecumbe.
However, many Te Teko people were still unhappy that the council planned to develop another bore on Paul Road. They said there were lots of waahi tapu (sacred) sites in the area, including the bed of Lake Otumahi.
This month the council visited the Paul Road bore site with Ngati Awa representatives to grow the relationship between the two groups and form a better understanding.
Public affairs manager Ross Boreham said the council attended the meeting to form an understanding of the cultural importance of the water resource for Maori in the area.
He said the council had a resource consent to draw 60 litres per second from the Paul Road bore and had lodged a consent application to take a further 60 litres per second to allow reticulation of water from this source to a greater area within the Plains water scheme.
However he said the application had been put on hold until further work was completed on the need for the additional water take.
“We are pursuing the development of the borefield and the installation of the reticulation system for Edgecumbe and Te Teko, as confirmed through our 2016-17 annual plan process.”
Te Runanga o Ngati Awa chief executive Leonie Simpson said the council’s visit was prompted by an invitation from tribe members.
PUMPING: The Paul Road bore.
“[The purpose was] for Te Teko locals and kaumatua to meet with councillors and staff at the sites Waikohu (Tahuna Road Bore) and Otumahi (Paul Road) and for kaumatua to give all those present a korero (story) on the cultural and historical significance of the puna wai (springs) and surrounds.”
She said the visit was a first step toward building relationships with the council and communicating the importance of the freshwater resource to the Te Teko community.
“The revised proposal to supply clean drinking water to Te Teko is a positive response to the concerns raised by the Ngati Awa ki Rangitaiki representatives, the Te Teko community and Te Runanga o Ngati Awa,” she said.