Tauranga City Council is reminding smokers in the community to appropriately dispose of their cigarette butts after its pollution team has reported an estimate of 60,000 littered butts every day.

The pollution team was called out to two specific instances of cigarette butt litter last week. Council says this number of cigarette butts equates to four tons of litter going into the city's waterways and harbour every year.

This information from Tauranga City Council weekly bulletin for the week beginning Monday, November 16, published below.

Water Supply:

• Otumoetai Watermain Upgrade - Waihi Road/Lebanon Street have been connected up. Pipe being thrust in Pillans Road from Pine Avenue to Maxwells Road. Maungawhare Place is being connected up.
• Maintenance on water main and bellows on the Taipari Street is now completed and final reinstatement underway.
• Fire hydrant marking and servicing continues in the Greerton area and throughout the city over the coming year.
• Work on the Ohauiti High Level water supply reservoir is progressing. The construction of this new reservoir includes installation of over 1.1 km of new water main and will service the Ohauiti area. It's expected to be completed by January 2010.
• Water main replacement in Apollo Street and a section of Cameron between Elizabeth Street and Spring Street are due to commence this month.
• Shutdowns occurring in Vale Street West/Maungawhere Place and Otumoetai Road adjacent to Tupaea Place, residents notified by letter drop.

Drainage:

• Further drain work within the Otumoetai golf course is scheduled for cleaning and weed whacking.
• Part of the Maranui drain swale along SH2 has been mechanically cleaned to remove heavy vegetation growth in the channel.
• Oriental Parade drain along length of Bucklands Crescent to the farmland is scheduled to be cleaned.
• The open drain along Vale Street near Andrew Place is scheduled to be cleaned.
• A 'tomo' in Salisbury Avenue is being investigated for a possible pipeline problem.
• There are faults in the stormwater system in Shadelands Lane causing some localised flooding problems that are being investigated with CCTV.
• Three sewer blockages and one pipeline damage incidents were reported this week. One blockage caused an overflow to a stormwater pipe system.
• The three pipe blockages were required to be cleared by City Care Ltd were at Lagoon Place, Sherwood Place and Pillans Road. The Pillans Road incident was an overflowing gully dish that then drained to a nearby stormwater sump connected to the Pillans Road tunnel pipe system. Temporary Health Warning signs were put up until Thursday when water quality test results gave a clear result.
• The other pipe incident was with a geotechnical investigation drilling rig punctured the Papamoa West 500mm diameter rising main. This is a significant wastewater pipeline and Council's contractor City Care Limited did a great job of minimizing the environmental threat and repairing the site.
• An incident involving exposed aggregate concrete wash-off was reported in Vale Street. The pollution team attended and advised the contractor to sweep up the small volume of slurry that had entered the kerb and channel. The spill did not reach the catch-pit. This serves as an important reminder to anyone working with cement or concrete must take care. Any cement/concrete wash-water or slurry, or water that contacts recently set concrete will be highly toxic to aquatic life and should never be allowed to enter the stormwater system or natural waterway.

Waiari Water Supply Project:

• Three appeals have been received against the resource consents for the construction and operation of a new water intake and treatment plant to serve the Papamoa urban growth area. Tauranga City Council is in discussions with the appellants and parties must report progress to the Environment Court by February 26, 2010.

Southern Pipeline:

• Work is starting on detailed investigation for the Judea Link emergency management option.

Inflow Reduction Project:

• Gully trap inspections at Royal Palms are nearing completion. A small number of properties still need to be accessed and Council are following up with those customers who have yet to be visited.

Parks and Leisure

• Cliff Road rose gardens - Roses in their second flush, all 28 beds in flower, many are fragrant. Stunning colour and great place to take a break.
• The two access ways into Elms Reserve have been upgraded and resurfaced.
• The walkway from Third Ave to Elizabeth Street has been resurfaced.
• For Mauao, the Oruahine track will be closed at times0 for weed control work to be carried out on the bluffs above.
• Whareroa Marae beach replenishment will be completed for this year at the end of the week.

City Projects

• A contract to construct a new gravity stormwater outfall at Greerton Park has been awarded. Works are programmed to start on January 11, 2010 and scheduled to take three weeks.
• The existing sportsfield lighting at Grenada Park is to be replaced. Planning issues and final design details are currently being worked through.
• Pre-Qualifications will be closing on Monday, November 23, for the new Gordon Spratt Reserve changing/toilet and storage facility. Following evaluation, three or four contractors will be invited to tender for the design and build of the facility.
• In preparation for Council's review (with Western Bay of Plenty District Council) of the joint Waste Management Plan, staff from both organisations will be meeting with members of the community with interest or expertise in the area of waste minimisation and management. These meetings will take place later this month. We expect to bring initial briefing papers to elected members early in 2010.

Transportation

• Parton Road: Work to reconstruct the road between Te Okuroa Drive and Papamoa Beach Road is continuing. A one way system is in place this week outside the Council reserve area so please take care and watch for traffic control and temporary speed limits.
• Takitimu Drive: Work on Takitimu Drive continues on the north bound lanes between the Waihi Road overbridge and Chapel Street. Lane changes and a 30km/h speed limit are in place so please expect delays, particularly at peak times.
• Cameron Road: Routine maintenance and reconstruction work on Cameron Road between Pooles Road and Maleme Street continues. The main work area is now between Pooles Road and Oban Road. There is a 30km/h speed restriction through the site so please expect delays, especially at peak times.
• Footpath Programme: The annual footpath construction programme is continuing. Work is now underway on Oceanview Road. About 4km of new footpaths will be built between now and Christmas in various parts of the city.
• Bus Shelters: Over the next few months 18 new bus shelters will be built at existing bus stops around the city. Work starts this week with construction of the concrete bases for the shelters. Most of the work will be done off the road so there should be minimal disruption to traffic.
• Local Road Resealing: The local road resealing programme in underway around the city. This week's work is mainly minor and disruption to traffic should be limited.

Libraries

• It was a successful day last Saturday at Papamoa Library and Community Centre Open Day, with 750 people through the doors and 40 new library members joining.
• Promotion has started for the Children's Summer Reading Programme (Dive into Books) and the Teenage Summer Reading Programme (Teen Mean Reads).

Venues and Events
Over 200 applications have been received for the ten Summer Ambassador roles. The Summer Ambassadors will be located at the Mount Beach Base with roaming patrols covering Papamoa, Omanu, Bayfair and Tauranga CBD from December 19 to January 10.

Some of the upcoming events:
Fang Re Vamped - Westside Theatre.
Cinderella's naughty night - Village on 17th.
Menopause Made Me Do It - Village on 17th.

Baycourt:
Marra has started the excavation on the external sections of the fly tower project, ready for breaking through into the building at the end of December. The main internal work will take place from January to April.

Some of the upcoming events:
The Armed Man 7:30pm November 14
Strike up the Band 2pm November 15
Infuse Fashion Show 7pm and 8pm November 16
Bethlehem Potters Exhibition 10am to 4pm November 20-22