Dannevirke’s water supply woes explained at meeting

The panel of speakers listen to mayor Tracey Collis's welcome CEO Bryan Nicholson (left), infrastructure manager Chris Chapman, consultant Derek Wood and councillor Kerry Sutherland.

Tararua District Council is taking a very careful and diligent approach to Dannevirke’s water supply issues according to CEO Bryan Nicholson.

Speaking to close to 100 residents at a public meeting on Wednesday night in The Hub, he acknowledged mistakes with the building of the impounded supply now need remedying and in order not to make more mistakes council agreed in September to allocate more than $1 million to fund a thorough amount of research and planning which needs to take place making use of the best consultants available.

Tararua CEO Bryan Nicholson explains the need for planning.

Chris Chapman, group manager for infrastructure, then traced the history of the crisis highlighting that the leak in the impounded supply (dam) was only one of a number affecting a reliable water supply for Dannevirke.

He said if the impounded supply was to be repaired it would have to be drained and repairs would take a year to complete.

He hastened to add that the impounded supply would continue to function over summer and he did not expect there would be severe restrictions because it was at nine metres capacity at present compared with last year at this time when it was four metres due to repairs.

He said the council was vigorously researching alternatives to using the impounded supply to solve the immediate shortfall and as well setting up a reliable water supply for the future. He said while we were fixing the immediate problems we could put in place changes that would save money in the long run.

Options being researched include:

• the installation of tanks, (Tasman tanks and others)
• the search for an underground aquifer that could supply Dannevirke’s needs,
• upgrading the Tamaki River intake and filtration plant so that it can purify the water even in times of high turbidity,
• surveying the water pipelines to identify leaks and non-permitted users,
• finding an additional stream source in the Ruahines,
• providing incentives for farms and households to install their own tanks.

There followed a wide-ranging 30-question and answer session relating to the impounded supply, particularly the condition of the cover and liner and the risk of a wall collapsing.

In reply, the panel said the cover and liner would probably have to be replaced but constant monitoring showed the wall was stable and the dam was being kept at nine metres capacity instead of 12 metres so as not to put special pressure on it.

Worries about the cost of research and repairs particularly to the ratepayer were countered by CEO Nicholson saying these would be covered by debt funding repaid over the next 20 years by future ratepayers as well. He did not believe new rate costs would be “significant”.

There were very good suggestions from the floor which were taken on board by the panel, particularly by members of the Dannevirke Ratepayers Association.

Mayor Tracey Collis, who managed the Q&A session, in her conclusion offered the option of having more public meetings like this including on other topics quarterly or six-monthly – an offer accepted widely.

She reiterated Chris Chapman’s request to use water for filling pools and water blasting etc now while the impounded supply is full and repeated her early statement that the council was totally committed to fixing Dannevirke’s water supply.

She said, “We have a window of opportunity to implement long-lasting and resilient supply to Dannevirke. We will be able to make the best decisions by using experts and being well-informed. It may take longer but we will get a better result.”