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Central Hawke’s Bay District Council is kicking off a major piece of cyclone recovery work, with Waipawa and Ōtāne’s water treatment plant set to be rebuilt 300 metres further away from the Waipawa River.
The plant on Tikokino Rd was flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle and again a few months later, putting those it serviced on ‘boil water’ notices for several weeks.
The new plant will be rebuilt on higher ground, away from the risk of floodwater. The project was one of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency’s priorities.
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker (left), with National Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd, breaks ground at the site of the new water treatment plant (bottom right) for Waipawa and Ōtāne on Tikokino Rd.
The project is expected to cost $5.7 million, with $3.4m of the funding coming from the Crown, and council funding up to $2.3m.
The new plant will be built 300 metres from the previous site, allowing it to withstand flooding levels higher than seen during Cyclone Gabrielle.
It will be the main supply for the 3500 people who live in Waipawa and Ōtāne and will also supply Waipukurau township, following the completion of the Waipukurau Second Supply project, which would connect the drinking water supply between the two towns.
The concept image for the new Waipawa water treatment plant on Tikokino Rd which will be situated 300 metres from the previous plant that was flooded.
The bulk of the plant is being built offsite, then moved into place. It is estimated it will take just over a year until the new water treatment plant is in use.
Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Alex Walker said the work was a vital part of recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle and ensuring the resilience of Waipawa and Ōtāne’s water supply for years to come.
“We could not leave this water treatment plant where it was. Multiple floods have affected this supply over the past few years, and Cyclone Gabrielle was the final straw.”
The digger at the new water treatment plant site, while the old plant can be seen in the background.
She said people spent weeks with either no water or under a boil-water notice and “that is not good enough”.
The investment will future-proof the district’s resilience and remove the ongoing and repeated recovery costs.
The CHB District Council was supported by the HB Regional Recovery Agency to access funding from the Government for the project.
“Working together as a region is going to be even more critical as we respond to the Government’s Local Water Done Well, Regional Deals to unlock economic priority, and other housing and resource management act reform changes.”
Walker said they were hugely grateful for the support from the Government and the Regional Recovery Agency.
“We simply couldn’t afford to fund this on our own.”
