After 47 years serving the people of Auckland, the Auckland Regional Council (ARC) will meet for the final time on Monday 18 October.

Gisborne District Council's 2009/2010 Annual Report, which goes to Council this Thursday for adoption, shows a focus on key infrastructure and working with the community to meet other objectives.

Gisborne District Council made a moderate surplus last financial year which will be carried forward to fund expenditure in the current year and repay past deficits.

Eleven thousand black plastic blocks are quickly filling the giant biological trickling filter tank at the Gisborne city's new wastewater treatment plant in Banks Street.

(ACN Newswire) - Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501) and Panasonic Corporation (NYSE:PC) / TSE:6752) today announced an agreement to establish a cooperative relationship in the smart community-related business in the global market with a goal of helping to realize a low-carbon society.

The region's 10 municipal wastewater plants are performing well overall, according to a compliance report to this month's Bay of Plenty Regional Council meeting.

Today the Minister for the Environment Hon Nick Smith announced that an innovative Rotorua research initiative will be awarded $1 million over two years from the Ministry's Waste Minimisation Fund, subject to signing of the deed.

Watercare Services Limited, which takes over the Auckland region's water and wastewater supply operations on 1 November this year, as part of the Auckland local government restructuring programme, today announced that it will introduce a standardised metropolitan water tariff on 1 July 2011.

Gisborne's Adventure Playground has become a big-boys' playground over the past few weeks as Connell Contractors' workers lay pipes to take screened and treated wastewater to the existing Stanley Road treatment site.

Gisborne's new wastewater treatment plant is beginning to make its presence known on the landscape.