DESPITE Three Waters looming, the Waitomo District Council is to make a decision on a new $9M reservoir at the Hetet Reservoir area today. PHOTO FILE/WDC
WAITOMO District councillors are expected to finish the triennium by recommending approval of close to $9 million in water supply improvements. The water resilience project in the council agenda for today October 6, includes construction of a 1500m3 to 2500m3 new reservoir at the Hetet reservoir, the construction of a new rising main along the best route from the water treatment plant to it; construction of a gravity main through farmland, along an existing easement, to the existing Hospital Reservoir with a bypass pipe, controlled by a pressure reducing valve, to supply the Hospital Zone while maintenance is performed on the existing reservoir or additional supply into the zone is required. Included is the installation of new high lift pumps at the water treatment plant to exclusively supply the proposed Hetet Reservoir and necessary valves around the network; and completing ancillary work on the existing Blackmans, Mangarino, Hetet and Hospital Reservoirs. CLEANING OF BUILDUP This includes but is not limited to the cleaning of the sludge buildup from many years’ service; repair of the rusted and non-functioning overflow pipes; repairs to corroded internal access ladders, concrete crack repairs and sealing of the tanks, plus repairs to the corroded steel trusses and roof sheets and earthquake assessment and strengthening of each reservoir. The council is expected to approve loan funding for up to a total of $8,850,000 + GST. The move places significant and overdue upgrades on the books should Three Waters activities be taken over by the new water entities from July 2024. The council infrastructure services manager Shyamal Ram said in his report that once the Water Services Entities Bill is passed by Parliament, any major decisions made on Three Waters activities will require approval from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and/or the National Transition Unit (NTU). The Bill is expected to be passed towards the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023. Until the Bill is passed, WDC has full control over its assets and any decisions made in relation to Three Waters activities. Any Three Waters debt existing as at July 1 2024 will be taken over by the new water entities. DIFFERENT LEVELS DIA and NTU have started preparation work on the Transitional Asset Management Plans, which will be split into three different levels. • (Level 1 Base) – Funded 2021 programmes with adjustments. (Level 2 Base +) – Base programme + new known high priority projects. The raw water storage dam will be in this category. • (Level 3 + unconstrained) – Base + programme with unfunded projects from 2021 and any other lower priority projects. The Te Kūiti Water Supply – Resilience Improvement Project will fall in this category. The project may not be undertaken for several years. If the council did not proceed, any improvements will be prioritised by the new water entity, and it will then have to compete with other projects in the region under the influence of the entity.
