The Silcocks Reservoir which forms part of the Dovedale Rural Water Scheme was recently upgraded for a cost of $75,000.
Some association members and local residents have questioned how such a large sum can be required for work which is essentially the replacement of a large concrete water tank with four plastic water tanks.
Following up on these member requests we have inquired with TDC Utilities Manager Mike Schruer for more details on how this significant cost amount has arisen.
Read here what the $75,000 were spent on and some comments by Mike.
Mike commented that Silcocks "is an extremely challenging site which also required maintenance and repairs of the access track, to make access safe, demolition of the existing tank and replacement of the SCADA/Telemetry monitoring and control equipment, which was located on the concrete tank."
Cost breakdown in detail:
|
Culvert and access track repairs |
8,000 |
|
2 tanks, site preparation, transport, pipework, valves, installation (Tanks 1 and 2) and SCADA/telemetry support infrastructure |
28,000 |
|
Concrete tank demolition |
5,000 |
|
2 tanks, site preparation, transport, pipework, valves and installation (Tanks 3 and 4) |
24,000 |
|
Fencing |
7,000 |
|
Miscellaneous site items and tidy up |
3,000 |
|
Total |
75,000 |
Overall, Mike notes this was a significantly cheaper option than building a new concrete tank and provides the flexibility to relocate the tanks if required in the future.
We appreciate receiving these details and hope these will add transparency to the recent works.
It is also noted that there will be a consultation meeting by TDC in February regarding the future of the Dovedale Water Scheme. All users of the scheme will be invited to the meeting.