A water meter trial in Rakaia will run alongside 14 significant water services projects to be delivered by Council in the 2026-27 financial year.

The projects are outlined in Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan and include a new watermain from Wilkins Road to Grahams Road (as part of the new second bridge connecting road), new irrigation at Council’s Ocean Farm wastewater facility so it complies with effluent discharge consents, and a long list of drinking water and wastewater pipe renewals.

Group Manager for Infrastructure Neil McCann said the 14 big water projects would be part of Council’s Annual Plan for 2026-27 and had a combined cost of around $27 million.

“Since we compiled the Water Services Delivery Plan a while ago, there’ve been a couple of changes. We want to bring forward our work on the Montalto rural drinking water scheme, which serves 35 households, and we’ve had to delay the installation of stormwater pipes on West Street because the design of the stormwater treatment facility has not yet been completed, as the national guidelines for stormwater have not been finalised.”

These changes will need to be approved by Councillors, as part of the Annual Plan process.

The results of the 12-month water meter trial in Rakaia will determine how meters will eventually be rolled out in Ashburton.

“Water meters are a big help in managing our water assets, finding and fixing leaks, and understanding local water demand,” Mr McCann said.

Under Government’s Local Water Done Well programme, Council is establishing an internal business unit to run water services (drinking water, wastewater and stormwater). Three waters services must meet national rules and standards, and the work also involves financially ring-fencing the work from other Council work.

Mr McCann said this meant water rates and charges would be used to fund water services, including improvements to pipes and treatment facilities to meet the new rules.

“Water services are a big part of Council’s work and essential for our residents. This financial year we’ve been working through a major upgrade by adding UV equipment to our water treatment plants and we're now in the final stages as we finish up at the Ashburton Domain and Dromore plants.

“For the next 10 years, the focus is on water supply, and we’re adding resilience to our network by installing a new pipeline along the second Ashburton bridge, and additional reservoir storage for Methven and Rakaia. We’re also preparing for future capacity and security of supply by looking at additional sources for Ashburton and Mt Somers, and investigating a solution to the high nitrates in the Tinwald bore, by either deepening it or finding a new bore.”

Council’s Water Services Delivery Plan is available to read online.