PM to open Pahiatua's new water treatment plant

The new Pahiatua water treatment plant while under construction. The now completed plant will be opened by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Supplied

Construction of the Pahiatua water treatment plant is complete, and an opening ceremony will be held on Friday when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will officially open the plant.

Unfortunately, because of Covid-19 level 2 restrictions, this will not be a public event.

The newly constructed plant uses raw water from the existing Pahiatua bore and the Mangatainoka River. Through membrane and advanced oxidation UV technology, it is treated to exceed the New Zealand drinking water standards and remove taste and odour issues that were prevalent in the outdated system.

A formal blessing will be completed by local iwi after the new systems have been commissioned and are ready to pump to the 6000m3 steel reservoir that is visible above the township.

The plant has been designed to enable town growth and deal with high variability in raw water, along with predicted future drought conditions.

Tararua District Council chief executive Blair King believes the collaborative contract between the council, FILTEC, Morris and Bailey, Beca and others was crucial to ensuring work continued on this essential water plant throughout the Covid-19 restrictions.

"The ability of FILTEC to use local suppliers such as Morris and Bailey, Kinetic Electrical and other trade firms ensured the key investment into this plant also helped the district economy through these tough economic times."

FILTEC managing director Matt Ewen said the project brought to light the advantages of working collaboratively.

"The FILTEC staff are very proud to see the plant now complete and ready to produce clean and safe drinking water for the people of Pahiatua.

"The Alliance team showed great resolve in progressing the water treatment plant build during a year hampered by Covid-19 restrictions and it brought to light the advantages of working collaboratively under an Alliance framework to deliver this important piece of infrastructure."

Tararua District mayor Tracey Collis also acknowledged the hard work from everyone involved.

"Residents of Pahiatua have long waited for a consistent supply of quality water. We are excited to see the plant officially opened and look forward to the water treatment plant meeting the community's needs and expectations. Everyone involved in this project has worked hard to deliver a great outcome for the Pahiatua community.

"We look forward to it being operational very shortly and sampling the water ourselves."