Buller District Council has completed a replacement of the Punakaiki drinking water supply trunk main as part of a major infrastructure project in Punakaiki.
The new resilient pipeline, built by contractor WestReef Services Ltd, will supply drinking water from the water treatment plant to properties on Hartmount Place and to households approximately 200m south of Bullock Creek.
WestReef staff trenched and laid 1.349 km of new polyethylene (PE) pipe before Waka Kotahi – New Zealand Transport Agency contractors constructed the new foot path connecting the Pororari River car park with the Truman Track along SH6.
“The project involved working closely with Waka Kotahi – New Zealand Transport Agency and our local contractor WestReef Services,” said Council’s Manager Infrastructure Delivery, Eric de Boer.
“Council’s water line ran right through the area in which the new footpath was to be constructed. This presented a great opportunity for council to replace the underlaying and existing vulnerable pipe.”
The new pipe is larger than the existing one and can carry more drinking water for future changes in the area, he said.
New valves and air valves have been installed which allow for the network to be better managed, through isolating sectors of the line and managing any bleeding of air pockets should an event require it.
“This allows Council engineers and contractors to better respond and quickly solve any drinking water supply disruptions.”
“Being able to work closely with Waka Kotahi allowed council to maximise the ground works and investment to replace its Punakaiki trunkmain.
“This reduced the cost of the project significantly and ensured that the new footpath, which is a real community asset, does not need to be opened up for future replacement works,” Mr de Boer said.
The project was largely funded through Buller’s first allocation of the Three Waters reform funding which saw Government contributed $4.5 million toward Three Waters infrastructure upgrades across the district. $526,00 of this external funding was used for the project, which saw council contribute the remaining $40,000.
