River barge arrives as part of contingency planning for city water supply

In response to notification from Environment Waikato regarding declining river levels, Council is proactively preparing for the possibility of levels dropping below the natural intake points for the city's water treatment plant.

A 14 m barge will be launched into the Waikato River today to form part of a pumping system being tested in contingency planning to ensure undisrupted water supply to the city.

Environment Waikato and Mighty River Power have been working closely with Council over recent months to monitor and project falling river levels which are the result of unprecedented dry conditions in the region.

Environment Waikato recently advised Council that river levels are declining and in the absence of significant rainfall this may continue for some time. Without significant rainfall in the near future it is possible that the level of Lake Taupo, which feeds the Waikato, will fall below the minimum operating level early next month.

When the minimum operating level is reached, Mighty River Power who has the key role in maintaining river levels will only allow as much water out of the lake as is coming in from the surrounding catchment in accordance with their resource consent. At that low level there it may not be possible to extract water for the Hamilton water treatment plant using existing methods and an alternative pumping system will be required to ensure continuity of water supply.

Council Works and Services general manager, Chris Allen says that the Waikato River has not dropped to such levels during the operation of the Hamilton water treatment plant.

"While we are hopeful that the river will not drop so low that water cannot be extracted though the current system, we must take prudent steps to plan for the possibility. Part of that contingency is to trial a pumping system which will be suspended from a large barge, tethered near the water treatment plant."

The 14m barge will be launched this afternoon [Thursday, 10 April, 2008] at Pukete and will be towed into place on Friday. The trial will involve testing of a pumping system which will be audible to neighbouring properties, but is not expected to continue for more than a few hours.

Mr Allen says the barge will remain a permanent fixture in the river until the drought is over and river levels are restored.

"Council will be working closely with the navigational safety team at Environment Waikato to ensure the barge does not present a hazard to watercraft. As the barge is 14m in length it does impact on the navigable width of the river, so all river users should take extra care."

Council will continue to communicate regularly with Environment Waikato to ensure contingency planning remains relevant and responsive to changing environmental conditions.