Water use in Alexandra and Clyde has dropped by about a quarter since water metering was introduced three years ago, shrinking the price tag on the area's new water scheme, the district mayor says.
The introduction of meters on Central Otago District Council water supplies was contentious but served its purpose, Mayor Tony Lepper said.
He told the Central Otago District Council yesterday the aim was to drive down demand for water ‘‘to the stage where we can design something more affordable'' when it came to constructing a new water scheme.
That target had been met and the scheme could be designed to cater for lower capacity water use, while still making allowance for growth in the district.
The scheme, estimated to cost about $8.5 million, could cater for Alexandra, Clyde, and the rural area near the towns, including the Alexandra airport, Dunstan Flats and Gilligans Gully and Letts Gully.
A report by Beca Ltd on current and forecast peak water demand for a new Alexandra and Clyde water source was discussed by councillors yesterday.
Mr Lepper asked how much extra cost was involved in designing something that could also cater for the outlying areas of the two towns ‘‘and is it warranted?''
Council development engineer Peter Morton said making the scheme catchment a little bigger would not much affect the design costs.
It was important to cater for future growth in the district.
‘‘I'm a bit worried we could end up with a Frankton airport scenario, '' Cr Barrie Wills said.
Council planning and environment manager Louise van der Voort said any concerns about growth around the Alexandra airport could be addressed by district plan zoning.
The Beca report said peak water volumes in Alexandra from 2008-11 were 11,593-13,536 cu m a day.
From 2012-15, those figures had decreased to 7517-8379 cu m a day.
The Clyde figures had also reduced significantly and overall, the drop was about 24%, which could be attributed to water metering, the report said.
Mr Morton said the rural zoned land between Alexandra and Clyde generally relied on individual or shared private water supplies from bores or races.
‘‘These sources provide an unreliable source of potable water and in some cases there is no water available during dry spells and that situation is likely to be exacerbated by changes in irrigation patterns away from flood irrigation.''
The decision to supply Alexandra from Lake Dunstan gave an opportunity to supply potable water to those rural properties as the supply main would pass through the area, he said.
