The Ashburton District Council aims to give consumers a continuous supply of water at reasonable volume, pressure and quality.

Council's annual plan requires that a potable water supply to the Ashburton community meets 100% compliance with the Drinking Water Standards, New Zealand 2000.

There are 11 potable water supplies in the Ashburton district. These schemes obtain water from a variety of surface water or underground sources, provide treatment where necessary and distribute the water through a pipeline network to customers.

At present potable water supplies are provided to Ashburton, Methven, Rakaia, Hinds, Mt Somers, Chertsey, Dromore, Fairton, Upper Hakatere and Winchmore.

Council’s goal is to manage, maintain and enhance the district’s potable water supply infrastructure. Actions programmed for 2002/2003 included:

• Operating and maintaining the potable water supply networks and facilities to ensure the systems are reliable, available and provide an acceptable level of service.
• Upgrade the Ashburton water supply