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Warwick Smith / Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tours the Pahīatua water treatment plant, after its official opening on Friday, as part of her 2020 election campaign road trip.
The long-awaited $ 3.9 million water treatment plant in Pahīatua is a boon to both the city of Tararua and the nation, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The new plant, which Ardern opened on Friday, was expected to solve the city’s long-standing problems with foul-tasting and smelling water drawn from the city’s well and the Mangatainoka River.
She said the plant was a milestone, not just for Pahīatua but for the country, in a major overhaul of New Zealand’s aging water supply infrastructure and services to ensure everyone has safe access to safe drinking water.
The Tararua District Council was in line to receive $ 5 million to continue that work in the rest of the district, drawn from a $ 761 million fund that the government announced in July to help councils pay for maintenance and replacement of old treatment plants and pipes.
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* Pahīatua will incorporate a new high-tech water treatment plant
* Main water pipe bursts near Big Barrel in Pahīatua
* Pahīatua water restrictions lifted after algal bloom in Mangatainoka River
THINGS / Things
Tararua College students hold a waiata with Principal Iain Anderson, left, to welcome Ardern to the new water treatment plant.
The extent of the problem with New Zealand’s drinking water infrastructure became undeniable after the Havelock North Campylobacter outbreak in 2016, which resulted in four deaths and 5,500 illnesses.
“[But] It shouldn’t have taken a devastating event at Havelock North to remind us how important it is that we have safe drinking water in New Zealand … that it is clean and meets our standards.
“You have done it here in Pahīatua in a way that is truly world class, and we have to continue that in New Zealand.”
Ardern said the plant had “an impressive list of novelties.” It was designed to be remotely operated and only needed staff to visit for maintenance, delivering chemicals for chlorination and monthly cleaning.
It is New Zealand’s first water treatment plant to have an automated motorized rail system for changing barrels of chlorine. It combined an ultra-thin membrane with advanced oxidation technology to address the taste and odor problems of the water source.
THINGS / Things
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrives at the new Pahiatua water treatment plant, right behind Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis, during inclement weather.
Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis said the plant will undergo some final checks before it comes fully online in the coming weeks, which would be a welcome relief for Pahīatua residents.
“The people of Pahīatua have been very patient and have lost patience at times, waiting for a reliable source of water.”
The water quality problems began after a decrease in the city’s drilling volume in 2013, and was complemented by the extraction of the Mangatainoka River.
The council spent several years researching alternative water sources, but was ultimately unable to find one.
Efforts were then focused on researching and designing a new plant that could handle the level of impurities in the river water and serve Pahīatua’s growing population, which was expected to reach 10,000 in a few years, he said. Collis.
Construction of the plant began last September and the council received $ 529,390 in financial assistance from the Ministry of Health.
The structure itself was completed in August, and the mechanical and electrical equipment were installed over the past month.
