Residents sick of wait for water

• Published date: 05 April 2024
• Publication title: Oamaru Mail

The Waimate District Council originally planned to commission the plant midway through last year. It then moved the date to the end of the year, but a resource consent has still to be filed

It has been an issue since November 2022, when dangerously high nitrate levels were recorded and the council restricted drinking from the tap for about a month.

A tank with safe water was installed at the Glenavy Hall for people to collect from and it is still used today.

Glenavy residents are still hesitant to drink from the tap and are fed up with the council’s delays.

Glen Billett said: ‘‘We should be able to drink the water here. Are they going to do something about it?’’

She boiled her tap water before drinking but said the plant would make her feel more comfortable.

Another resident echoed her sentiment.

‘‘The sooner it goes in, the better.’’

She bought bottled water and only drank from tap water if that ran out.

A second resident also said he only drank water from the supermarket.

Margarita Silva-Netto said she still drank from the tanks provided by council when the nitrate levels originally spiked in 2022.

Waimate District Council assets manager Dan Mitchell said dealing with the discharge was holding up the process.

‘‘Once we have established the preferred discharge location, we will progress towards a resource consent application.’’

Mr Mitchell said it was ‘‘unknown at this stage’’ when construction would begin.

‘‘The complexity of the problem means that a significant amount of work needs to be completed prior to consenting and then construction.’’

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