The Dannevirke water treatment plant upgrade is almost complete. Despite lockdown and a shortage of building materials across New Zealand, robust planning and forward thinking has been key to deliver the upgrade on time. After the plant’s construction phase, which started in June this year, all the pre-ordered equipment was installed and is now being tested and checked. Handover to Council is expected to happen early November, after which it will be fully operational.

In Woodville the concrete foundations of the plant have been poured and other civil construction works are being finalised. Installation of new tanks, pipes, filters and other equipment is underway. Commissioning is expected to be around Christmas. This involves systematically checking that every element of the treatment plant works properly before going live. It will involve engineers, local contractors, local suppliers, Council staff and Council’s alliance partner, Filtec. Pending Covid alert levels handover to Council is expected around the start of the new year.

The Eketāhuna water treatment plant design is currently under peer review by a third party to ensure quality and efficiency of construction. Civil construction is expected to start early in the new year and will take a few months to complete.
Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis explains; “These water treatment plant upgrades will have the capability to treat more turbid water, which further reduces the risk of future precautionary boil water notices having to be issued. Managing water demand will remain a priority. We are grateful for our teams and construction partners for the great job they have done in planning ahead and staying on schedule with these upgrades.”

According to Tina Love, Group Manager - Operations, of Tararua District Council; “The upgrades are expected to make our water treatment plants more robust and provide greater resilience when it comes to water security for our district. The plants will be equipped for future upgrades, if required, due to district growth expectations”.