Malcolm Dixon: Every drop saved helps

Malcolm Dixon, Hastings district councillor.

Thank you to all of the residents who are playing the game and assisting the council to conserve water.

Every little drop helps and there is no immediate solution to this latest crisis unless it rains or the temperatures drop.

There is a whole lot of confusion and the subsequent negativity out in the community about why this needs to happen. This is my attempt to put some clarity around the issue for everyone.

During the recent water crisis and the associated contamination the Brookvale bores that supplied the water for Havelock North were all turned off. This means that the entire water supply for Havelock North is now being pumped out through the pipe along Havelock Rd to the reservoirs in the Havelock Hills.

The current water usage is more than the pipe can supply and the reservoir levels are dropping. By placing restrictions on water usage hopefully supply will meet demand. It needs to be stressed it is not a lack of water it is just getting it to where it needs to be.

I can assure you all the Hastings District Council staff are treating the situation with a great deal of urgency. An ultraviolet treatment filtration plant that can handle our water pressure needs to be sourced and then commissioned onto the Brookvale No 3 Bore in the first instance.

Discussions are also under way as to whether or not they need to go on to all of our bores. Because of the cost there will need to be public consultation in the New Year. The aquifer that supplies our drinking water has been compromised and that is for the Government Inquiry to determine how and why this happened.

Why aren't the leaks being fixed?

A number of residents are showing concern around the number of leaks that are occurring and the time it is taking for these to be repaired.

I have been told that the pipes have been under more pressure than is normal.
The reaction of the chlorine on the copper pipes has loosened the connections or created pinhole leaks within the pipes. There are three additional teams working on this problem and they are being fixed on a priority scale. The HDC call centre logs them all so please keep on reporting them.

Why is chlorine required?

HDC has a duty to provide water that meets the NZ Drinking Water standards and to achieve this the only immediate option that is available is to use chlorination. This happens in the majority of towns and cities throughout New Zealand. Taupo, Hamilton, Auckland just to name a few. The other option is to use the UV Filtration treatment, which is expensive and will take time. Rest assured I don't like chlorine in the water just like everyone else but I have accepted there are currently no other alternatives.
Why is water being exported?

The first point to be made around this issue is that the Regional Councils throughout New Zealand issue the resource consents for their region that allows this to happen.

The second is that the Government has stated that no one owns the water and therefore it cannot be charged for. As far as exporting water is concerned that needs to be addressed urgently. Why should NZ being giving it away when no other export commodity is free? Our Government needs to change its policy.

The third point is that the quality of this water does not have to meet the NZ Drinking Water quality standards just like the water that is used for irrigation purposes. It only has to meet the standard of the country it is being exported to.

Finally all of the information that I have at my disposal and from the experts that I have listened to show this is a major problem for Hawke's Bay. Once the Government Inquiry has announced its findings the region will need to be unified in agreeing to the solution. Everyone has a right to have drinking water that meets the NZ Drinking Water standards.

If you still feel frustrated and annoyed after reading this - spare a thought for all of those whose lives have been impacted upon by the Kaikoura earthquakes. For me that puts everything into perspective.

- Malcolm Dixon is a Hastings district councillor. Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz