Awatere Wins Government Subsidy To Upgrade Water Supply Quality

Mayor Alistair Sowman today announced the government has agreed to subsidise a quarter of a million dollar Miox water treatment project for the Seddon-Awatere area.

The government will meet 85% of the cost of the Seddon township component of the project, as requested by the District Council on behalf of the region.

Once the treatment plant is operational, residents may no longer be advised to boil their drinking water although this will be subject to test results.

The Council has been lobbying the government for a subsidy since the government announced the new National Drinking Water Standard, arguing that the compliance costs were an unreasonable burden for small populations where major work was required to bring the local water supply up to the standard.

The Drinking Water Standards are due to become mandatory from mid-2014.

“It’s taken a long time to get to this point and I want to commend the Seddon community for their patience. We were determined that some of this cost had to be carried at national level rather than becoming an excessive burden on a small population,” said Mr Sowman.

The Council this week received written confirmation from Health Minister Tony Ryall of the approval for payment of $47,807.00 (excluding GST) for the project.

Details of the project are expected to be finalised with the Ministry of Health soon as Council completes the design and confirms the proposed site for the treatment plant.

MIOX treatment is similar to chlorination and provides for the treatment of bacterial contamination. It does not lift the Awatere water supply to full compliance with the National Drinking Water Standards but it will significantly reduce the current health risk. There is scope for it to be used in conjunction with a filtration system in future to further raise the standard.

Both the Council and the Awatere Settlers’ Association water sub-committee favoured Miox as the most economic option, offering maximum benefit for minimum cost. The subsidy will assist Council to limit the extent of future water charges.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for rural communities to get any subsidy at all as the funds the government has allocated for this work are being thinly spread around the country so this is a significant achievement for us, said Mr Sowman.