Where does our water come from and is it safe?

Water for Beautiful Valley comes from a surface intake in Stony Creek, it is piped into a settling tank from there it is piped to the properties on this scheme

It is also a restricted water supply which means the daily allocation is supplied into a tank at a constant flow over a 24 hour period. Once the tank is full the ballcock shuts off the flow.

This is a stock water only supply and is untreated.

Who looks after the water supply?

The Council operates and maintains this water supply but we do use contractors to carry out the maintenance work.  We are responsible for the entire system up to and including the ballcock, provided:

• the ballcock is not located higher than 6m above ground. When this happens we are not obliged to maintain the ballcock but we can assist if prior arrangements are made

What are your responsibilities?

• The maintenance and replacement of the frost plug and filter located inside the restrictor valve, where fitted New frost plugs and filters are free and available from the Timaru District Council and the Service Centres in Temuka and Geraldine.
• Checking the restrictor weekly. The restrictor prevents fine sediment and extraneous matter from entering your water storage tank and also provides a seal between the restrictor body and the face plate.
• The maintenance of all the private water system beyond the ballcock including the storage tank and the pipework.
• Make sure you know the location of the watermains on your property prior to putting in new fences, mole ploughing, trenching and any other work likely to damage the watermain. If you fail to do this and damage the watermain you will be charged for the cost of the repair work.

How is the water allocated?

• The water is charged by the hectare within the scheme
• It is based on 70 litres per hectare per day. Please note that some rounding is required for operational purposes.
• A restrictor unit is used with a jet which controls the volume of water to be supplied into your storage tanks.
• It is illegal to tamper with the jet or remove it altogether and may result in enforcement action.

Restrictions

Dry weather conditions may result in short supply because of low river levels and excessive use by consumers. When this happens hosing restrictions are put in place to help keep the demand for water down.

Restrictions are advertised in the newspaper and on our website www.timaru.govt.nz

Backflow Prevention

Your tank can become contaminated by birds, worms, dust etc. It is really important that this contamination does not re-enter the water supply pipe.

Your tank must have an overflow outlet 40mm below the ballcock inlet level in the tank (please note this is a legal requirement), to prevent the water level rising above the ballcock and getting back into the watermain.

You should check these levels to ensure your tank complies.

Your tank should be cleaned and sterilised with a chlorine bleach annually. Check out our Tank Sterilisation page for details on how to do this.

Need a new service connection?

You need to apply to the Council for all new connections which will only be approved if the water supply to existing consumers is not jeopardised (which is unlikely).

All new, altered or upgraded connections are required to have:

• 10,000 litres or three days allocation whichever is the greater, as the minimum onsite storage requirement outside
• Approved external level indication of water in storage tanks
• Outlet piping arrangement from the storage tank such as a minimum of 20% of the tank volume be held in reserve

Enquiries

For any enquiries relating to the District's Water Supply please contact us:

• Timaru District Council
  2 King George Place, Timaru 7910
  Phone: 03 687 7200
  Email: enquiry@timdc.govt.nz
• Temuka Service Centre
  King Street, Temuka 7920
  Phone: 03 687 7591
• Geraldine Service Centre
  Talbot Street, Geraldine 7930
  Phone: 03 693 9336

Last updated: 14 Jun 2023