Spending a penny in Clyde could take on a new meaning.
Moves are afoot to take a closer look at what happens when Clyde residents flush their toilets.
A $36 million sewerage scheme for Clyde is in the Central Otago District Council's budget, between 2023 and 2027, and the council recently employed engineering and management consulting firm MWH to carry out an initial investigation into future needs for such a facility.
Clyde has a population of about 900 and the council estimates 40% of the houses in the town are holiday homes.
During the peak of the summer holidays, the population can increase to about 3000.
Houses have septic tanks for sewage treatment and three years ago the Vincent Community Board was told the quality of groundwater could be degraded as a result of septic tank discharges.
A statement on the council website yesterday said the investigation work would identify if the sewerage scheme was needed and if the timing was appropriate.
MWH will review test data, talk to businesses in the historic precinct and to the Otago Regional Council and analyse growth projections and their implications, the statement said.
"The intention is to identify if there is an evidential basis for the need for a system at Clyde and, if so, when this may be required,'' the council statement said.
