District Council Notes
Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink. These lines from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge could well have been applied to Martinborough over the past 3 weeks and emphasise how critical water is for us. The fact that Martinborough was on a ‘boil water’ notice was far from ideal but it does highlight that the systems are in place to deal with the situation when something does go wrong. It also shows that the spotlight is on small councils to step up and invest further in ensuring potable water supplies are as safe as they possibly can be. The government is expecting them to have a belt and braces approach and have said in no uncertain terms that they will legislate to achieve this. This leaves SWDC with the conundrum of how it supplies a secure and treated supply from a system that when set up, was also expected to supply water for irrigation to vineyards. This requires investment, not just in plant and pipes but also in a broader knowledge base to supplement the expertise it already has in-house. SWDC is not alone in its dilemma as all council water supplies, large and small, are under the spotlight following on from the Havelock North contamination in August 2016.
One model that the government is interested in is one that already exists on the other side of the Remutaka’s – Wellington Water. This organisation was established in September 2014 as a result of a merger between Capacity Infrastructure Services and Greater Wellington Regional Council’s bulk water supply group. It is owned by the Hutt, Porirua, Upper Hutt and Wellington city councils and Greater Wellington Regional Council. The councils are all equal shareholders. … Continue Reading
