H2O clampdown
Council to step up water monitoring
The Gore District Council is preparing to lock down on water use as it suspects water carriers may have taken more water than has been reported in the past.
Gore and Mataura townships both struggled with water issues last summer, and water restrictions were put in place for a period of time. At one point the council put on a water tanker to help people in Mataura to get access to much needed water.
At a council operations committee meeting yesterday, committee members were told the council suspected some bulk water carriers may have pumped water from the town supply in Gore and Mataura and not paid for it in previous summers.
The members voted to spend $35,000 to install a permanently installed backflow protection device and mechanical flow meter, with some simple form of locking system. Water carriers would require a key or combination code to access the facility.
It was suggested the bulk filling station be located near the intersection of River and Bury streets in Gore, with no bulk filling station being provided in Mataura.
A report tabled by 3 Waters manager Matt Bayliss at the meeting says the council currently provides water take consents, which allow commercial bulk water carriers to extract water from the council’s water supply network.
But ‘‘as there is no way of monitoring actual water taken, water carriers are required to report their water consumption to the council. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that more water is being extracted than is reported,’’ the report says.
The current arrangement lacks any control to monitor, limit or suspend water carrier activities. This can result in a few contractors either not being aware of, or ignoring the council’s requirements, the report says.
One option was to stop the water carriers from taking bulk water from the Gore supply, but the report notes that ‘‘there is a possibility that the bulk water supplier will illegally take water from the hydrant causing very high risk to the public water supply.’’
There are two registered, and authorised potable water suppliers and six contractors consented to take water for construction activities within the district.
At the meeting, Cr Ralph Beale suggested the council review the charges to water carriers, as he had heard that some carriers took water out of the Gore area.
Councillors voted that council staff prepare a report into increasing charges.
Bayliss also gave an overview of water supply, and said the council might have to start pumping water from the Mataura River, unless there was a significant flood in the next two weeks, as levels in the town’s wells had reached low levels.