Water supply now 100% bore water

Friday 27 Feb 2015

The water supply for Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati is now 100% bore water due to low Waikanae River levels.

“Without enough rain, we can no longer use river water for the time being,” says Council’s Water & Wastewater Treatment Plants Manager Dave Bassett.

“However, bore water goes through the same treatment process as river water before it comes out of our taps, so it’s totally safe to drink and conforms to the New Zealand Drinking Water Standard.”

Council’s river recharge scheme, once fully operating, will see an end to bore water in water supply as part of normal operations.

‘The scheme will allow bore water to be added to Waikanae River below the treatment plant when levels are low, so more water can be taken from the river. Because the bore water will top up the river below the plant, it won’t enter supply,” Martyn Cole, Council’s Water & Wastewater Asset Manager, says.

Construction is progressing well, with the first stage of the scheme due to be finished in mid-2015. Once complete, up to 20 per cent of the river’s flow can be added back into it from bore water below the treatment plant.

“Extensive monitoring is also underway to make sure there are no adverse environmental effects on the river. Once the initial monitoring programme is completed in May 2017, our total supply will come from the river and we will be able to top it up using our bores during dry times as required,” Martyn Cole says.

The ratio of bore water to river water in the Waikanae/Paraparaumu/Raumati water supply can be found here and is updated whenever the ratio changes.

Water supplies for Ōtaki and Paekākāriki come from different bore fields and don’t use any river water.

Despite the dry summer, Council has not had to put water restrictions in place and this is largely due to people using less water since water meters were introduced.