‘Free’ well needs donations to help cover costs
People will have to pay to get water from a bustling fresh water well in Christchurch if donations fail to cover the ‘‘significant’’ costs of upgrading the pipes.
About 1500 people a week use the well in Ernlea Tce, Cashmere, lugging away up to 40 litres at a time.
Demand at the well at the site of the Lotus at Siam Thai Day Spa, at Swan Lake Gardens, grew after the Canterbury earthquakes and spiked when the city’s water was chlorinated.
To meet the need, Lotus owner Duncan Laing updated the plastic pipe to a ‘‘more user friendly’’ stainless steel water line from the artesian well on the property to the street boundary.
Laing was coy about the costs but said they were ‘‘significant’’.
Users were asked to pay 12 cents per litre, with the first two litres free, at a security deposit box at the gate from yesterday.
A meter has been installed to track how much water was being extracted. The improvements were expected to ease congestion, producing about 40 litres per minute – 20 litres per tap – where the old single outflow flowed at 30 litres per minute.
It was also expected to reduce as the tap can be turned on and off as needed.
The upgrades were completed about three weeks ago and customers suggested he install a donation box to recoup his expenses, Laing said.
‘‘When people are made aware of the spot they’re so grateful, they were coming to the gate saying they were willing to pay.
‘‘It’s entirely up to them if they want to pay but down the track if I can’t recoup those costs it will have to become compulsory.’’
Several customers posted on the company’s Facebook page asking for a way to ‘‘repay [their] kindness’’ and praised the ‘‘divine’’ water.
Vanessa Smith said she visited the site weekly and there was always a queue down the street. She would ‘‘definitely’’ be willing to give a small donation to access the water given the generosity they had shown, she said.
Cashmere retiree Sandra Southgate-Croy said her funds were ‘‘limited’’ but she would donate if she could.
A contractor working on nearby Colombo St, who did not want to be named, was the first to drop a few gold coins into the collection box yesterday. He visited up to twice a day to fill up his drink bottle and could ‘‘totally see’’ why payment was necessary, he said.