Sewerage talks bogged down | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

The stoush between Masterton District Council and critics of its $23 million sewerage upgrade spilled on to the council table in a public forum.

Forty people descended on the town hall on Wednesday to watch neighbours, iwi, Fish and Game, and other opponents dispute the town's plan to dump wastewater on to a stretch of land rather than into the Ruamahanga River.

The groups told councillors centre-pivot irrigation offered a better solution for the town's "despicable" environmental record than the plan to use border dykes.

Sustainable Wairarapa told councillors that centre pivots would be 8 per cent cheaper than border dykes and could remove 20 per cent more waste from the river.

Ra Smith and other iwi representatives lamented the state of the river and agreed centre pivots had a better chance of eliminating all sewage dumping.

"Our province's name, Wairarapa, or 'glistening waters' is no longer a brand, is no longer a trademark, it is a challenge," Mr Smith said.

The district council has resource consent from Greater Wellington Regional Council for the border dyke scheme and if it chooses centre pivot this means a new application for resource consent, that may tack months or years on to the project.

Councillors will make a final decision whether they stick with border dykes or change to centre pivots next Wednesday.

Mayor Garry Daniell said this was "probably the biggest decision a council has made in two generations".

Before the decision, councillors will pore over tender figures for the border dyke plan.

Councillor Brent Goodwin said the real cost of border dykes could completely change the preferred option.

"If it's not a million dollars cheaper, I guarantee it will tip the balance in favour of centre pivots," he said.