Awatoto is delivering up a solution to some of Napier’s dirty water woes in the form of plenty of clean, clear water pumping up at 80 litres per second from almost 120m below ground, Napier City Council has announced.
The new drinking water bore is in its final stages of testing, and is set to replace bores in Napier’s network that are high in naturally occurring manganese, which reacts with chlorine to discolour water.
Napier Mayor, Kirsten Wise says the completion of the A3 water bore is a significant step for Napier’s water works programme.
“Anyone who has experienced dirty water coming out of their taps will understand how important this project is to Napier,” says Mayor Wise.
“In the last couple of years it’s been our priority to fix dirty water issues and this is a big step in the right direction.’
Once the new bore has completed its final testing regime, a UV treatment plant will be moved onto the site, and a blessing will take place, the Mayor said.
The drill rig and team who constructed the bore have now moved to a new site at Taradale to begin a similar process there. Whereas the Awatoto bore will be brought online as an integral part of the Napier network from June, the new Taradale bore will only be used as a back up to ensure resilience in the system, she said.