Simplified plan to replace old water pipes

The fast-tracked replacement of water pipes at Waikouaiti — one response to lead contamination of the town’s drinking water — may not involve digging up the old pipes.

New pipes may be laid without the old cast-iron pipes having to be removed.

Old pipes could simply be decommissioned if the new alignment is not affected by their presence, a Dunedin City Council spokeswoman said.

Older sections of pipe, with their lead joins, are considered to be a likely contributor to some elevated lead readings in the water supply over recent months.

Residents of Waikouaiti, Karitane and Hawksbury Village have been told not to drink tap water, nor use it for cooking, since February 2. The advice followed six readings that breached safe lead levels.

The city council has not been able to determine the source or sources of the contamination, but recent testing has been within the acceptable limit.

Replacing pipes at Waikouaiti was scheduled to happen in the next five years, but officials accelerated the $6 million programme to eliminate a possible source of lead contamination.

A construction site office for the pipe replacement work has been set up at the Waikouaiti Racecourse.

The council spokeswoman said trenches were being dug in Bendigo Rd and Edinburgh St, ready for the first pipes to be installed.

Pipes were also being replaced at Karitane and that work was due to be completed by the end of the year.

grant.miller@odt.co.nz