Tēnā koutou katoa
Greetings to you all
Heavy rain has seen a reduction in water usage for many of our towns which has assisted our supplies. During these heavy rainfall periods the water we take from the river has high turbidity, caused by things like silt in the water and we are unable to use it from the river source therefore towns are supplied from our stored water supplies.
Regular water testing is carried out at treatment plants and our town reticulation networks. This is a time consuming, but necessary, task with seven water treatment plants funded through the targeted water rate, 80 per cent for urban residents and 20 per cent through the general rate which covers the use for our public facilities.
We also have connections on the raw water line which take untreated water from our pipes before it reaches our raw water storage (like impounded supply) or water treatment plants. Many are legacy agreements with easements or other legal agreements including from the old county and borough council days. We are in the process of checking these and ensuring we are all meeting our obligations.
Extraordinary users are outside the urban area with council water pipes running nearby their properties. They are agricultural, commercial and lifestyle properties all charged separately on a quarterly basis, with an additional charge for water usage above the 80 cubic metres covered in the quarterly charge. We’ve become aware that in many cases the requirements in council’s water supply bylaw regarding extraordinary users have not been met, nor enforced. This is being addressed and a revised water supply bylaw is the start.
Current Fees and Charges for water can be found on Council’s website (www.tararuadc.govt. nz - Publications - Fees & Charges - Water Supply Fees and Charges). We are currently reviewing these as part of the Annual Plan with initial indications suggesting increases are necessary. For some of these rural properties increasing resilience with additional tank storage will be a real advantage and we encourage you to support this project.
Dannevirke’s impounded supply is currently 5.8 metres, approximately 23 per cent full. The good news is that the river levels have increased and we are able to use surplus water to continue to fill the impounded supply. Water restrictions will remain in place until we are comfortable with this level.