Bridge Pa Residents to Get Drinking Water as Aquifer Drops

Hastings District Council (HDC) arranged for water tankers to supply emergency drinking water to the community of Bridge Pa when it was made aware water shortages there were wide spread. The water shortages have potential to create a public health problem.

Bridge Pa is not connected to the Hastings water supply and relies on private bores. However, in dry summers the aquifer which supplies the bores can drop and shallower bores are left dry.

An HDC door-to-door survey yesterday revealed 35 houses in the village are without water, some for as long as six weeks.

The potential for the water shortage to create a significant public health issue is a concern for HDC and it has acted immediately to provide water stations for emergency drinking water which residents can access.

HDC, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board are meeting this morning to discuss short-term solutions.

HDC and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council are sharing the cost of emergency water provisions however, residents will need to plan for how they will deal with the situation if current conditions continue.

Chief Executive, Ross McLeod says clearly there are issues with the level of the aquifer, use of the water resource and long-term security of supply and these are issues HDC is keen to address with the regional council, the DHB and Central Government.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Chief Executive, Andrew Newman says all upstream irrigation from rivers, streams and stream-depleting wells have been under irrigation bans for some weeks.

The Regional Council compliance staff are carrying out aerial surveillance and on-ground checks to ensure irrigators are complying with the bans.

Central Government has funding available for small communities to upgrade their water supply and HDC is working to help Bridge Pa, and other Hastings communities with similar problems, to access that fund to help them find a long-term solution.