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Waituna West's "excellent water"

Wednesday 28 September 2011, 1:52PM

By Manawatu District Council

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MANAWATU-WHANGANUI

WATER quality for property owners and consumers on the Waituna West Rural Water Supply Scheme has improved markedly after the commissioning of a new bore in the area last week.

Seven years after the scheme’s intake structure and pump station by the Kiwitea Stream were destroyed by the 2004 floodwaters, the $700,000 bore on the corner of Williamson Road East and State Highway 54 is already providing “excellent water” for nearly 80 farms in the vicinity.

Manawatu District Council Water Manager, Wayne Spencer, said the 220 metre-deep bore was located in an area previously not known to have any underground water reserves.

Mr Spencer thanked the patience of the scheme’s users over the past few years as various long-term options were considered.

“A temporary intake was initially established,” he said, “but there were problems with high turbidity and silt loadings and a mobile riverbed containing lots of fine sediment.”

He said a redesign of the river intake was also contemplated, but there was a lack of confidence about long-term maintenance because of the site’s history.

“We turned to a groundwater option after a local farmer put down a bore and found water.”

After the supply scheme’s committee decided to “go for it”, a test bore was put down about two years ago and found a resource containing a sufficient quantity of “excellent water”.

“We now have consent for the use of 1400 cubic metres a day, “ said Mr Spencer, “which is more than the scheme is using at the moment, so it does give us a lot of scope to expand and develop and encourage greater usage.”

Mr Spencer said the water, to be used for stock watering and wash-downs (not irrigation), would certainly help develop farming operations in the Waituna West area.

Consumers on the restricted flow scheme are allowed an allocated amount of water over a 24-hour period.

“There was low usage of the scheme for a while because of the bad water quality, and the lines clogging up, but as things improve more and more consumers are expected to come back on board.”

He said landscaping work was also planned for the site.