Far North mayor Wayne Brown says Kerikeri people need to decide if they want to pay a lot to keep failing septic tanks - or a lot less for a sewerage treatment plant.
He said the town of 15,000 people relies largely on septic systems that can't cope with the waste from modern households and spill effluent over lawns and into streams.
Mr Brown said the council plans to begin close monitoring of those systems and may compel people to replace them at a cost of up to $25,000.
He said the alternative is for Kerikeri to pay for a proper treatment plant at a cost of about $2000 per household per year, which is in line with costs in other centres.
