Te Awamutu Water Supply project restarts

Albert Park pump station. Photo / Jesse Wood

Work on finalising stage one of the Te Awamutu Water Supply project restarted this week with the road detour back in place for drivers heading to Te Awamutu.

Final works include completion of the final pressure test, the pipeline connection at Kaipaki Road, and permanent road reinstatement.

Waipā District Council service delivery group manager Dawn Inglis said the final stage was nearing completion when it was interrupted by Covid-19 restrictions.

"We were at the final stages of the project when work was stopped under the alert level 4 restrictions. We, as well as our residents, are looking forward to finishing off these last few tasks and getting the road back to normal," said Dawn.

The road detour will be in place for approximately six weeks.

The contractors are required to undertake the work under Covid-19 level 3 and 2 restrictions for physical distancing and increased hygiene and this is anticipated as having an impact on their completion date.

Traffic heading towards Te Awamutu from Monday to Friday is required to detour via Lamb Street, Roto-O-Rangi Road and McLarnon Roads between 7am and 6pm.

Traffic heading towards Cambridge will continue on Cambridge Road under a one-way system but may expect delays.

Automated traffic lights will be in place on Cambridge Road, directing traffic both ways over the weekend and outside of these hours.

This work is part of the Te Awamutu Water Supply Pipeline project, placing 6km of pipeline between Pukerimu Pump Station and Parallel Road Treatment Plant, to bring untreated water from the Waikato River.

The Te Awamutu Water Supply project is being completed in three stages. Stage Two is installing 16km of pipeline between Parallel Road Treatment Plant and Taylors Hill Reservoir.

Stage Three is an upgrade of the Parallel Road Treatment Plant which is where water will be treated to drinkable standard.

Once completed, the water supply project will provide Te Awamutu, Pirongia and Ōhaupō residents additional supply from the Waikato River.

This summer highlighted the importance of completing the new supply project, with Te Awamutu, Pirongia, Ōhaupō and rural surrounds reaching Water Alert Level Four, a complete outdoor water use ban.

"Installing this pipeline is absolutely vital to our communities, and it will provide resilience across our network," said Dawn.

Stage two of the pipeline project has also recommenced with works taking place within the road corridor on a number of roads. Stage three is currently in the design phase with an expected start date of June 2020.

Learn more about the Te Awamutu Pipeline project.