Investment needed to meet new water standards

New Zealand’s drinking water laws have changed. New regulations mean we need to test water supplies more regularly and potentially bring forward planned upgrades.

Taumata Arowai took over responsibility for regulating drinking water from the Ministry of Health in November 2021, via the Water Services Act.

Under the Act all suppliers of water must submit a Drinking Water Safety Plan (DWSP) as well as introduce a residual disinfectant, such as chlorine, unless awarded an exemption.

The Council has submitted six applications to Taumata Arowai seeking exemptions from having to use chlorine in our water supplies.

Waimakariri residents on urban schemes have been clear that they do not want chlorinated public water and the Council is doing everything we can to ensure that happens.

We believe we have, and can continue to maintain, high quality and safe drinking water for our residents without the use of chlorine and we are committed to working proactively with Taumata Arowai on the exemption process.

The decision whether we must chlorinate however, will be dictated by the outcome of the Taumata Arowai assessment of our applications.

While we are waiting for our applications to be assessed, Taumata Arowai has allowed the Council to continue running currently unchlorinated water supplies, where permitted, on the basis that more regular testing is undertaken and a programme of work is brought forward which will increase the safety of supply.

This increased testing, and fast-tracking of UV treatment projects may not guarantee a positive outcome to the exemption process, and it is likely that further investment will still be required.

There is a cost associated with this which accounts for approximately $400k annually for more regular testing and requires $6m to be brought forward for planned ultra-violet (UV) upgrades.

OPTIONS:

A: Council’s preference

The community supports a more robust testing regime and bringing forward planned treatment upgrades to meet the new rules.

B: The proposal is declined

The community does not support this further investment into testing and infrastructure upgrades. This would mean however that water supplies would likely not pass the exemption process and will need to be chlorinated.