Drinking the water budget dry

The cost of a new water treatment plant in Sanson has spiked to $1.1 million in the aftermath of a Hawke’s Bay water contamination inquiry.

The Manawatu¯ District Council has increased the budget for the plant, which will purify drinking water, by $682,000 for the construction of its final stage. The bore was completed in 2016 and a 420-square-metre reservoir built in 2017.

Utility projects team leader Wiremu Greening said the cost of building treatment plants for drinking water had skyrocketed since the Havelock North water contamination incident in 2016.

The campylobacter outbreak in the Hawke’s Bay town made more than 5000 people ill and has been linked to three deaths. It was suspected to have come from sheep faeces entering a stream near the town’s bores.

‘‘The availability of contractors, the cost of materials and the additional treatment complexities required to ensure future compliance, post the outcomes of the Havelock North inquiry, has resulted in an increase in cost of $664,294, or 54 per cent.’’

Councillor Hilary Humphrey said drinking water was a ‘‘basic human necessity’’ and the council had ‘‘no option’’ but to sign off the extra bill.

A report following the outbreak identified several failings by the Hastings District Council, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and drinking water assessors.

Although the district and regional councils did not directly cause the outbreak, their ‘‘dysfunctional relationship’’ and lack of co-operation resulted in missed opportunities to prevent it from occurring, the report says.

Greening said the project would deliver potable water to the Sanson community. Water would no longer need to be brought in from outside.

That system had reached the end of its life and modern infrastructure inside the town boundary was now required, he said. It drew a $664,000 subsidy from the Ministry of Health.

Max Tarr Industrial Ltd will start construction this month and the project is expected to be finished in March.

Greening said the area required significant surveying and new piping to the reticulation and sewerage network.

Contractors would then install equipment, which includes a backup generator to safeguard the plant against power failure.