A series of resolutions adopted by the Whakatāne District Council last week set out the short-term actions required to upgrade the Plains Water Scheme, subject to financial viability and the availability of funding.

The key to most of the initiatives planned is the development of the Paul Road borefield, which the Council agreed should be the major source of water for Plains consumers, allowing the scheme to progressively comply with NZ drinking water standards. After hearing submissions from Te Teko Hapū, stating the community’s desire to be connected to the Paul Road borefield when it is developed, the Council adopted additional resolutions confirming that it would engage and consult with hapū about the concerns raised and the future provision of water to Te Teko.

Other resolutions included:

• That Edgecumbe should be connected to the Paul Road bore by December 2016, utilising a $2.1 million Ministry of Health subsidy and that the town’s supply be isolated from other water sources;
• The installation of water meters be proposed for individual Edgecumbe connections;
• That the Tahuna Road water supply be secured;
• Connection of Te Teko to the Paul Road borefield as part of the Edgecumbe water supply project, subject to annual plan affordability assessments and additional support from funding partners; and
• The renewal of the resource consent for the Johnson Road borefield, which is due to expire in March 2016.

The Council also determined that it should not rely on the Paul Road borefield as an emergency supply source for Whakatāne and Ōhope, but Councillors requested further information about the cost of installing pipes that could enable that development, should it be required in future.

Development of the Paul Road source will require the installation of an additional bore and a variation of the current resource consent to allow the future extraction of approximately 10,000 cubic meters water a day - approximately double the existing consent volume. Consultation with Te Teko hapū and the wider Rangitāiki Hapū Coalition will play an important role in that process.

The Plains scheme serves most of the Rangitāiki Plains area and has been progressively developed since the 1970s, utilising water from Braemar Springs, the Johnson Road borefield and the Tahuna Road bore. While it does not represent a health concern, water drawn from Braemar and Johnson Road does not meet NZ drinking water standards due to its arsenic level (typically about 0.02 milligrams/litre compared to the drinking water standard of 0.01mg/l). Tahuna Road water supplied to the Te Teko community is generally of a high standard, with very low or undetectable levels of arsenic. However, because it is drawn from an unsecured bore, it also does not comply with the drinking water standards.