Council offers three water options

The Far North District Council is offering three options to homes and businesses connected to a private water scheme at Waipapa, which will be cut off on July 1.

About 80 households and businesses connected to the Mawson Avenue water supply, which serves properties in Mawson Avenue, on State Highway 10 and Waipapa Loop Road, will lose their water supply when the owner, the Robin Lock Family Trust, turns it off for what is describes as personal reasons.

The council has declined to take over the supply but is offering to connect customers to its Kerikeri water supply, and is seeking feedback on that proposal.

General manager — infrastructure and asset management Andy Finch said the council wasn’t keen on taking over the private supply because the bores, storage tank and key pipelines were on private property, with no formal easements or rights of access.

“The pipes do not meet the council’s engineering standards, there is not firefighting coverage [hydrants], and materials do not meet standards required for public water supplies,” he added.

Affected property owners had the options of taking over and running the private supply themselves, installing rainwater tanks, at their own cost, or connecting to the council’s supply.

“It will be quite simple and cheap to connect Mawson Avenue customers to the council’s Kerikeri supply via a water main that already runs along Waipapa Road. This will ensure all homes and businesses connected to the private supply have a continued supply of potable water after July 1,” Mr Finch said.

The council has written to property owners about their options, giving them until May 2 to return voting forms. The vote would guide the council’s decision regarding connecting properties to the Kerikeri supply.

It had also written to properties connected to its Kerikeri supply, because it would need to upgrade infrastructure if the Mawson Avenue properties were connected. That would add about $7.80 to targeted water rates for the coming financial year.

Anyone with questions could go to www.fndc.govt.nz/waipapawater, email waipapawatersupply@fndc.govt.nz, or speak to council staff at a drop-in session at BaySport Pavilion on Monday April 30, from noon to 6pm.

“It is important that property owners in the Mawson Avenue area fully understand their options and the time frames involved,” Mr Finch said.