Slowly but surely progress is being made to ensure high nitrate levels in Glenavy’s drinking water are a thing of the past.
It was announced in December that the Waimate District Council planned a new water intake from the Waitaki River for the lower Waihao rural water scheme, which supplies drinking water to the township.
Council asset group manager Dan Mitchell said there were "very few matters left to resolve before the consent application is made".
"A new source has been identified, tested and we are finalising the associated resource consent application documents.
"Concurrently, the pipeline between the new source and the existing treatment plant has been designed, along with the new intake."
Once the consent application is lodged, he said the council would hold a public meeting to inform Glenavy residents and answer any questions they had.
Online monitoring had been installed at the new intake point, near Bells Pond, to test the water quality, specifically before and after rain events.
Mr Mitchell said it was up to scratch.
The Water Services Authority Taumata Arowai’s Drinking Water Regulation Report 2024, released late last month, revealed the lower Waihao supply was one of only two water schemes that exceeded the maximum allowed value of nitrate last year.
The water from the scheme was undrinkable for 16 days in December 2024 due to high nitrate levels.
It was the second time in two years residents were left without water following the same issue in 2022.
