Rangitīkei District Council to decide Marton water treatment options in April

The future of Marton's water supply is expected to be decided in April. Photo / NZME

The future of Marton’s water supply is at a “key decision point”, with a report to be presented to the Rangitīkei District Council in April.

The council said the report would outline the costs and delivery options to determine the next steps.

The council built a new test plant last year to trial how Marton’s new bore water could be treated using modern nanofiltration technology.

The trial has been completed and council staff are reviewing the results with independent peer review “to ensure any next steps are accurate, practical and deliver long-term value for the community”.

Rangitīkei Mayor Andy Watson said he had been “incredibly frustrated” by how long the process had taken but there was a “need to get this right”.

“All around the country, with all sorts of councils, people have rushed into a decision where they have been reactionary in nature,” Watson said.

“What I have insisted on is that all of the testing that we could do has been done. I asked for the information to be peer-reviewed and that is the best possible process that I can lead the council through.”

On March 10, the council’s temporary water tanker was stood down because of water-quality improvements.

The tanker had been operating twice a week since January 13, after consistent warm and dry weather resulted in high levels of geosmin (produced by algae).

The recent cooler temperatures and more regular rainfall in the district reduced algae levels in the Tūtaenui Reservoir, which has improved the water’s taste and odour.

Other short-term solutions to improve water quality are being sought while the next steps of commissioning the bore water source are worked through.

Watson said he sympathised with Marton residents but was confident the new treatment plant was the right way forward.

“I freely accept, and the community knows, that the use of a dam supply of water creates a huge number of difficulties in terms of consistency with odour and taste,” he said.

“The move away from a dam supply to a bore supply is absolutely the right thing to do and nobody doubts that.

“We are well down that track and I am hoping that after the council meeting next month we will be able to make decisions going forward.”

April’s decision will determine the estimated timeline for a full treatment plant.

The meeting will be closed to the public because it involves “commercially sensitive information”.

A public update will be provided a week after the meeting so “residents understand what’s happening and what comes next”.

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.