Hastings mayoral column: Sandra Hazlehurst talks about the city’s new Water Discovery Centre

Hastings Mayor, Sandra Hazlehurst. Photo / Supplied

Opinion

On the weekend of October 7, we opened our beautiful Waiaroha Heretaunga Water Discovery Centre in our city.

It was incredible to have so many people in our community come and see this special place.

After the Havelock North water contamination of 2016, our council heard our community’s call and made a commitment to upgrade our drinking water network to the highest standard to ensure that our drinking water supply is safe, secure, and sustainable.

The two five-million litre water tanks and treatment facility at the corner of Southampton and Hastings Streets is a result of this commitment, along with a storage and treatment facility in Frimley Park, the upgrade of seven small community drinking water supplies, a new 4.5km mains pipe between Hastings and Havelock North and a booster pump in Havelock North.

This $95 million programme of works is future-proofing our drinking water supply for this and future generations.

But Waiaroha is something much more than state-of-the-art water treatment and security – it’s about our collective responsibility to care for the environment and learn more about our water – where it comes from, how it’s used, and where it goes.

Waiaroha combines the best water engineering with Heretaunga whakapapa and mātauranga - genealogy and wisdom – a cultural concept that’s a special gift from Ngāti Kahungunu to us all.

Through the design, its cultural elements, and the learning opportunities provided, Waiaroha calls us to focus our behaviour on better use of our water, to let the rivers flow, to care for our aquifer, and to help us understand and respect the natural world around us.

The outside landscape guides visitors on a journey following our water source from the mountains to the sea, with interactive and play elements that bring this information to life.

Inside the whare, more interactive learning opportunities await and this space will be used as a place of education – fitting in with the curriculum to enhance the knowledge of our young people.

A glass wall of the treatment facility allows you to see into, and learn about, the water treatment process and how our water is collected and pumped across the city.

Waiaroha is a unique and special place and I want to thank our councillors who had the vision to invest in a world-first water discovery centre, and the project lead and fantastic team of engineers, architects, landscape designers, carvers, weavers, and storytellers who brought it to life.

We would love for you to visit Waiaroha – it’s open 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday, and it’s all free.