PHOTO
Water pipes running under Rangiora’s main street are at risk of bursting in the near future if they are not replaced, Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon says.
Waimakariri District Council voted unanimously to replace the deficient water pipes under High Street and upgrade the watermain at a meeting on Tuesday, October 7.
The decision follows the pipes bursting, causing road flooding and disruption to businesses, in March 2025 and January this year.
Council investigations revealed the quality of the water pipes was poor and the chance of another burst in the near future was likely, Mr Gordon said.
Staff concluded the only way to prevent further outages was a full replacement, he said.
The stormwater capacity also needs to be upgraded to improve drainage, particularly in a heavy rain event.
The cost of the project would not be known until staff went out for tendering, but Mr Gordon said it was “likely to be significant”.
“Our businesses and community want certainty of service, and we have prioritised ensuring these works go ahead as smoothly as possible,” Mr Gordon said, after meeting with High Street retailers on Tuesday evening.
The meeting gave affected business owners the opportunity to find out firsthand what was being proposed and to make any suggestions.
Mr Gordon said council staff wanted to deliver the upgrade at speed, while causing the least disruption possible.
“We know this will cause some disruption, and we are committed to ensuring this project runs smoothly.
“We are forming a group of business owners to work alongside our staff as we roll this project forward.”
A community drop-in session was also planned in the Rangiora council chambers on Thursday, October 29, from 5.30pm to 7pm.
“We want to reassure the community that every consideration has been given,” Mr Gordon said.
“People have seen the outages and the effects these have had.
“It’s unfortunate to discover the pipework, which dates back decades, had a batch of deficiencies.”
Rangiora’s town centre is the primary location for shopping and services for more than 60 percent of the Waimakariri district’s population.
The upgrades were aimed at increasing drainage capacity, particularly in heavy rain events, and to improve the resilience of the watermain network, Mr Gordon said.
The work will involve closing High Street in stages from the King Street roundabout to the Ivory Street intersection, followed by an eastbound lane closure from Ivory Street to the railway line.
Each stage is expected to take about six weeks with the work at the intersections of King Street, Percival Street and Ivory Street completed in separate stages as night works.
Pedestrian access will be maintained to ensure access to businesses.
The council’s water services portfolio holder Cr Tim Fulton said it was “a once in a generation project”.
Council staff plan to go out for tender soon, with the goal of starting work in April and completing the project in November next year.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
