$9.5m worth of work needed for Napier's water supply

Next year Napier residents will be asked how they feel about $9.5m worth of projects to ensure clean drinking water for the future. PHOTO/FILE

It could be an expensive path forward to bring Napier's water supply up to standard.

At the final 2017 Napier City Council meeting yesterday, councillors considered accelerating $6.3 million worth of projects to improve the city's water supply, as part of a total $9.5m plan.

This was in response to the findings of the Government's inquiry into the Havelock North water contamination. This multimillion-dollar plan would be consulted on during the Long Term Plan 2018-2028 process next year.

Traditionally Napier has operated an untreated water supply from a number of bores
deemed "secure" under the existing New Zealand Drinking Water Standards (NZDWS).

But this is no longer enough, with the inquiry recommending the secure bore concept be removed from the NZDWS - meaning more treatment will be need to provide a barrier to pathogen risk.

So yesterday the council was advised by council manager asset strategy Chris Dolley that an accelerated water quality programme would be considered as part of the 2018-2028 Long Term Plan process.

Some capital works already included in the draft Long Term Plan would need to be accelerated "as early as practicable".

These included consolidating treatment from 10 chlorinators, to two permanent "state of the art" treatment plants at Taradale and Awatoto costing $1.7m, and replacing four existing below ground bores at Taradale and creating a trunk main from a treatment plant to the city's reservoirs at a cost of $4.6m.

It could also need to install dedicated inlet outlets to reservoirs, and suspend the $400,000 "interim chlorination facility designed to upgrade the existing chlorination sites with a five-year life".

As well as the projects brought forward, there were five other projects which could not be deferred, a paper before council noted.

These included a $1m district metering project, new bores in Awatoto at a cost of $1m, new treatment plants at $1.7m, $250,000 earmarked for improving bores, $95,000 for dedicated water takes from hydrants, and an $880 project for improvements to reservoir inlet and outlets.

The total project cost for all seven projects was $9.5m. It was estimated capital funding could require a rate increase of .82 per cent from 2020, plus a further $80,000 a year for operating costs.

Mr Dolley noted it was "a lot of money", but would mean the city's water supply met requirements going forward.

Rates were increased by an additional 1 per cent this year for costs relating to water network improvements.

A paper before the council noted other costs had not been assessed, including for additional training and licensing of water supply staff, and for UV to treat for protozoa risk. There was no provision relating to the possible creation of dedicated and aggregated water suppliers.

No decision was required by the council yesterday. Its other future options ranged from doing nothing and to wait for the water supply requirements to be law, to implementing an improved chlorination system only without accelerating the improvements to the network.

Yesterday the council agreed to note the adoption of "urgent and early recommendations" from the inquiry, including maintaining incident chlorination of the water supply, not recognising secure bore status for Napier as a barrier to pathogens, and to continue fully participating in the joint working group.