Water pipes to stop at Seacliff

The Dunedin City Council will not extend water pipes north of Seacliff to Karitane during a $9.2 million upgrade of the water supply to coastal communities north of Dunedin.

Council water and waste services manager John Mackie said the northern water scheme project control group made the decision not to include Karitane in the upgrade late last year.

Reducing the extent of the piping network would cut expenditure by about $835,000 without compromising project objectives, Mr Mackie said.

Savings totalling $1.5 million would be achieved by other measures. These included not renewing pipes between a new pumping station in Leith Valley Rd and Sullivans dam, and not constructing a new link between the Seacliff pumping station and Seacliff reservoir.

Existing pipes in these areas could be lined in future, which would improve water quality and the integrity of the pipes, he said.

The council saw these as acceptable measures in the ‘‘short to medium term'', as Karitane could continue to be fed from an upgraded Waikouaiti water treatment plant for up to 20 years, he said.

Water for Karitane and surrounding areas would be sourced from the Waikouaiti River, and possible ‘‘backfeeding'' from the Seacliff reservoir.

Mr Mackie acknowledged residents had expressed concerns about the increased water take from the Waikouaiti River. Up to 2400cu m per day had been taken from the river recently, but this could increase to 3600cu m a day to meet residential and agricultural demands resulting from growth, he said.

The council was last year granted resource consent by the Otago Regional Council to take that amount after an 18-month process, he said.

Waikouaiti Coast Community Board member Geraldine Tait said members were ‘‘a bit surprised'' when the council's report was presented at a community board meeting last Wednesday.

‘‘It is a major deviation from the proposed scheme and some members expressed concern the board had not been consulted.''

Residents who attended the public forum were concerned about the environmental impact on the Waikouaiti River and at the council's move away from exploring sustainable water sources - including domestic rain collection - in favour of systems which could be metered, she said.