Water supply assurance offered

Queenstown Lakes District residents could "take confidence" in the council's ability to ensure the water supply would continue to meet the community's needs despite three recent water main failures, QLDC infrastructure services general manager Mark Kunath said.

"When and if we strike problems, then we have the expertise and the resource to address them," he said.

In the wake of the recent failures, Mr Kunath said it was not his intention to apportion blame - the council had to take a "wider approach" when it came to the district's water network.

"Recent water main failures cannot be solely attributed to previous contractors when there are a wide number of factors," Mr Kunath said.

The council had recently restructured the engineering function to deliver better results, at less cost, and bring in-house some of the functions formerly performed by consultants, he said.

"We are in good shape to have a look at the bigger picture because there are a lot of elements that need to come into play."

For example, the council would be "remiss" if it did not consider the effects of growth and the unforeseen pressure that had been placed on the existing system.

"I am of the view now that we need to look forward, assess the status of the network and then implement solutions," Mr Kunath said.

A new asset management system had also been installed to enable the council to better analyse faults and deliver targeted projects.

Meanwhile, the water would continue to flow, Mr Kunath said.

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