New temporary Water Treatment Plant for Morrinsville is on track for commissioning in August 2023.

What's been done so far?

Water supply to Morrinsville continues to be a matter of strong community interest. As part of the 2021 -31 Long Term Plan consultation we asked the community if they wanted one or two additional water sources in Morrinsville, and with 63% of submitters preferring two new supply sources, work is well under way.

Instead of drilling two bores with smaller water takes, we applied to take more water from one of the new bores – this will be more cost effective and result in the same amount of water. This will supply the Lockerbie side of Morrinsville, but will also be able to support the town supply.

The new bore in the North East of Morrinsville is in place and we have resource consent from the Regional Council, which will allow us to treat and supply additional water for Morrinsville. We have secured land for the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and the contract was awarded towards the end of 2022 for the WTP design and construction.

A Temporary (Containerised) Water Treatment Plant has been placed on site and all enabling pipework for the bore head works is almost complete.

What’s happening next?

The Temporary (Containerised) Water Treatment Plant and bore head works pipework still requires some final checks and minor works to finalise the installation, with the WTP commissioning August 2023. This supply will then feed straight into the existing water reticulation for Morrinsville.

The Permanent Water Treatment Plant final design, layout and consents are all expected to be finalised in September 2023. Physical works on site will commence September 2023 and is due to be commissioned by mid 2024. The Permanent Water Treatment Plant will be able to treat four times the amount of drinking water than the Temporary Water Treatment Plant.

We're also working on a “Water Master Plan”. This plan will assess our current infrastructure and water use, and provide recommendations for how we can ensure continued supply of safe, clean drinking water to our growing communities for the next 50 years and allow for adequate funding in our Long Term Plan.