New water sources in the pipeline for Kaitaia

The Far North District Council has found a supplementary source for its water supply at Kaitaia where a severe drought has forced it to introduce Level 4 water restrictions.

The Council last week signed an agreement to take water from an aquifer bore it has already invested in and has a resource consent to draw water from.  The Council plans to use the bore, which is about 8km west of Awanui, to supply water to bulk water carriers.  Contractors started building a pipeline from the bore to a roadside access point last Thursday.  The Council is borrowing a portable water treatment plant from Watercare in Auckland, so bulk water carriers can supply potable water to households.  It aims to begin supplying aquifer water to carriers in about three weeks, easing pressure on Kaitaia’s main water source the Awanui River.  The Council is also talking to the owner of another bore that has the potential to be a second supplementary water source for Kaitaia.

General Manager – Infrastructure and Asset Management, Andy Finch, says the Council is pleased to have found an alternative water source for bulk water carriers.  “Our Kaitaia Water Supply provides a back-up  supply to rural households across a large area.  We provided 1,444 cubic metres of water to bulk water carriers in January compared with 80 cubic metres of water in September.  This volume has increased every month and it will continue to climb as more household water tanks run dry.”

Mr Finch says there is still a water shortage in Kaitaia, despite progress the Council is making to find supplementary sources, and Level 4 water restrictions will remain in place until further notice.  “The Awanui River is flowing at historic low levels.  We were forced to partially dam the river last week to ensure there was enough water at the treatment plant intake pipe.” 

He urges households and businesses to continue to reduce their water usage.  “We are grateful to Kaitaia for reducing its water use by more than 14% from 4-10 February.  However, we need people to make further savings so we achieve our water use reduction target of 25%.”

Photo caption:  Far North Waters water treatment operator Regan Jones shows the normal level of the Awanui River in February.