Plans to fix Morrinsville’s water woes

A rising population and challenging weather patterns have left a rural town drowning in water woes for years, prompting the local council to do something about it.

The Matamata-Piako District Council is proposing a $6.3 million water development for Morrinsville as part of its draft Long Term Plan, which will maintain, improve water regulations and build infrastructure that caters for growth.

Council’s Water and Waste Water Manager Karl Pavlovich said water is a resource and it’s not a matter of finding it, treating it and supplying it.

‘‘We have to be careful with the amount we use and demonstrate that we’re using it responsibly,’’ he said.

But ‘‘we can’t just sit on our hands and wait.’’

Morrinsville’s reservoir typically runs the risk of running dry during summer.

It was the first town in the district to move into a complete water ban, while the North Island faced the ‘‘large-scale adverse’’ drought in summer 2020.

In February/March, the Morrinsville Te Miro Reservoir on Waterworks Rd dropped around 210mm each week.

In response, between 2021 and 2025 council is proposing building two new bores and treatment plants at Wisely Park and Lockerbie, costing $1.6m and $4.7m respectively.

Production for a new bore at Lockerbie Estate began in March 2020, which was forecast to produce about 3500 cubic metres a day to Morrinsville North.

The new bores and plants will treat and supply water to the northern side of Morrinsville, but they won’t remove future water restrictions.

The district will still face restrictions, but they won’t be as severe, council’s Asset Strategy and Policy Susanne Kampshof said.

‘‘The bores are already there, but they’re no use unless we treat it,’’ she said.

From here, council will decide whether it is adopted into the LTP.

The outlook for autumn 2021, according to NIWA, includes fewer dry spells, average or above average temperatures and near normal rainfall.

‘‘We can’t just sit on our hands and wait.’’