Just how dry will this next summer be?

An Update on Water Supply in the Moutere Hills Area (and the Waimea Dam)

Since the public meeting organised by the MHRA in April we have spent some time piecing together the factors affecting the provision of a potable water supply for the residents of the Dovedale and Upper Moutere area. This included meeting with a representative of TDC engineering department and with the chair of the present Dovedale Water Committee, and collecting information from the TDC website.

Water supply on the Dovedale Scheme has become somewhat more reliable as faulty sections have been replaced, but the water quality remains below standard and worsens over summer as intake reduces and water is taken from a lower outlet. A permanent "boil water notice" continues to be in place. TDC has not yet produced a required Public Health Risk Management Plan for the scheme and says this "will be reviewed as part of the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan". The volume available from the present source cannot be increased, and the scheme is seen as slowly amassing more debt.

Plans exist at TDC for supplying water to the Dovedale scheme from a new source in the Motueka river gravels near Woodstock to improve both quality and available quantity. However, any such plans have been postponed by TDC with a new "placeholder" date of 2026. There is no certainty of this date being any more reliable than the previously announced 2016 date. TDC claim that the $1.6 million dollars estimated to get a new source and treatment station and fix the supply pipes was seen as too high a price to be carried by the people serviced by the present scheme.

One of the problems preventing us moving forward is that focus has been on the existing Dovedale Scheme rather than on actual number of households (potential users) in the distribution area. Our Water Supply Survey is part of our effort to establish a better view of the demand in the distribution area.

Meanwhile, TDC is running a public consultation on the proposed Waimea Dam - to supply Richmond and the Waimea Plains with more water. See the TDC article for the official details. It is particularly concerning to us that with both of the proposed funding models the cost of building this dam - if it is ever built - would affect ratepayers in the whole district, but there are no plans to get any of the water from the dam to the Moutere Hills!

MHRA is polling its members and the community to produce a submission to this first consultation phase for the Waimea Dam (funding and governance) and to find out which alternatives for improving water supply in the area best match the needs and interests of local residents.

Possible avenues for improving the supply situation include:

  1. Pressure TDC to construct the suggested new bore and treatment station for the existing scheme and make it available to more of the population.
  2. Create a new wholly independent water supply scheme using an existing bore at Pangatotora in the Motueka River gravels. This scheme would be community-owned and would aim to operate at rates competitive to those of the Dovedale scheme. It could take over the connections of the Dovedale scheme in the Moutere catchment, freeing up capacity on the remainder of Dovedale scheme at the same time. Any new scheme would be required to supply pristine quality water from day one. However, this can only work with buy-in of the majority of the community.
  3. Reduce the basic unit of supply on the Dovedale scheme from 2m³ to 1-1.5 m³. This might allow additional houses to be serviced, but would not improve the quality of the available water.
  4. Request TDC to service the Moutere catchment from Mapua with water coming from the to-be-constructed Waimea Dam – if it is ever built.
  5. Oppose the Waimea Dam proposal, and instead ask for the money to be used to improve other parts of the water supply schemes in the district.

To act on this we need your feedback!

Please take a couple of minutes to complete our Water Supply Survey - this is how you can influence the future of the district.