A temporary supply for bulk water carriers

The Far North District Council's portable water treatment plant and storage under construction at Bird Rd, west of Awanui. Photo / supplied

The Far North District Council is installing a temporary water treatment plant and storage on Bird Rd, west of Awanui, to reduce pressure on Kaitaia's primary water source, the Awanui River.

Water from the Sweetwater aquifer will be taken from there by bulk carriers, which in the past have filled up at the town's reservoir.

Mayor John Carter said rainfall had largely missed the Awanui catchment, and levels in the river had declined steadily since the beginning of December. Without significant rain, it was predicted that the flow could fall below the Northland Regional Council water take consent level within weeks, or even sooner.

Kaitaia was already on Level 3 restrictions, banning many outdoor water uses, and now, to further reduce demand on the town supply, the council would reopen a Sweetwater bore it already had resource consent to draw water from. The water would be treated on-site by a mobile treatment plant and piped to a metered tanker collection point at the south end of Bird Rd.

It was intended to have the supply, initially developed at the height of last year's drought, operational by the middle of this month.

"In the end we did not use that supply, as the drought had broken and there was no longer a need to maintain separate water treatment systems," Carter said.

"However, we learned a lot setting it up, and we know we can gain much-needed extra capacity for Kaitaia by diverting bulk water carriers away from the town supply."

There would be no extra charge for water taken from the bore, although transport costs charged by carriers could vary.

"We are acutely aware that refilling water tanks is a significant financial hurdle for some Te Hiku households. This water will cost $3.17 per cubic metre, the same fee we charge all Far North residential and commercial customers for treated water," he said.

The temporary bulk water supply was not to be confused with the new permanent secondary water source the council was developing for Kaitaia.

"Work on a separate bore site at Sweetwater is ongoing, and we are committed to completing this by next summer," he added.

"This water will be piped 14km directly to our Kaitaia treatment plant, and will permanently supplement supplies from the Awanui River. This will dramatically improve the town's water resilience in the future."

Last year demand for treated water from households reliant on rainwater tanks climbed dramatically as the drought intensified. In January 2020, the Council provided 1444 cubic metres of water to Te Hiku bulk water carriers, compared to 80 cubic metres the previous September.

Meanwhile, work on a second bore at Tokareireia (Monument Hill) in Kaikohe was progressing as planned. It was estimated that the new 120m bore could provide 900 cubic metres of water a day, although that volume would only be used if the Wairoro Steam, Kaikohe's primary water source, was running low. Drilling was nearing completion, and testing to confirm flows and possible impacts on surrounding groundwater sources would begin this month, and would be completed with a few days.