Easier water supply proposal for Ohakune?

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 5, 1 July 1986, Page 1

Easier water supply proposal for Ohakune?

The problem of upgrading Ohakune's water supply was discussed at last week's Borough Council meeting. Cr Mike Wiggins spoke of a meeting he had attended with representatives from the Health Department, Ministry of Works and Development and MacEwans Machinery Ltd, an Auckland company. Cr Wiggins said that MacEwans had offered a cheaper option than that proposed by the borough's consulting engineers, Payne Sewell Ltd. This option was filtration, followed by a gravity-feed in-line chlorinator which would remove the need for two large reservoirs as proposed by Payne Sewell. Cr Wiggins said filtering the water would remove most of the solids which turned Ohakune's basically very good water into a potential health hazard. Filtration would mean less disinfectant and fewer addi-

tives would be needed, thus leaving the taste and colour of the water closer to its natural state. Cr Wiggins said the cheaper MacEwans option was likely to cost at least $250,000 less than the other. The problem of water quality is compounded by the draw-off made by vegetable washers which accounts for 40 per cent of total borough use. High use by visitors combine with this to cause a very high winter peak flow. Cr Wiggins said that at present vegetable growers were in effect subsidised by other ratepayers for their high water use. He said that Health Department officials had indicated that growers may be forced to wash their crops in chlorinated water in the near future.

"The difference between the two systems is that one is asking ratepayers to pay for reservoirs to wash carrots in peak time while in the second the water is to be chlorinated." Council decided to apply for the Health Department subsidy for upgrading the water supply, without specifying at this stage which proposal would be chosen. Meanwhile a meeting was to be arranged with market gardeners to discuss the use of water for vegetable washing. Cr. Wiggins said he was sure that a compromise could be worked out with the growers, particularly as the MacEwans plan assumed a borough population of 2000, when in fact it had remained at 1 500 for the last five years.