Council is planning to temporarily shut down the Tinwald water treatment plant on Thursday, and households south of the Ashburton River will receive water from the Ashburton drinking water supply instead.

The Tinwald plant will be closed from Thursday 8 May until Monday 12 May, while contractors pre-assemble and weld pipes in preparation for completion of the new concrete block building that will house UV disinfection equipment.

Council is upgrading its drinking water supplies to include a UV step, as required by the national quality assurance rules.

Group Manager of Infrastructure and Open Spaces Neil McCann said the preliminary pipe work at Tinwald needed to happen before the installation of the UV equipment.

“There’s a good chance people in Tinwald won’t notice any change during the work period, but there is the potential for low pressure during peak demand periods so that’s why we are letting people know the work is being done.”

The Tinwald bore and existing treatment plant is at the Tinwald Domain, and the well is one of eight on the Ashburton community supply. Pipes connected to the underside of the SH1 Ashburton River bridge regularly convey water from Ashburton to Tinwald.