Downlands supplies 78,000 hectares within the Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie districts and has several different sources and treatment plants. The Te Ana Wai water treatment plant on Richardsons Road near Albury supplies the majority of the Downlands Water Supply. This water is treated with microfiltration, UV and chlorine.

The other sources include:

• The Pareora township intake (a shallow well) supplies the Pareora township only. This is treated with UV and chlorine.
• The Springbrook/St Andrews treatment plant supplies St Andrews. This is treated with UV and chlorine.

Downlands is a restricted water supply which means that the daily allocation is supplied into your tank at a constant flow over a 24-hour period. Once the tank is full, the ballcock shuts off the flow.

Water is sold by the unit. Each unit allows for a supply of 1,000 litres per day, provided there is storage capacity available.

The allocation  is based on a supply of 65 litres per hectare per day, plus 1,000 litres per dwelling per day where this allocation has been approved. The volume is then rounded to the appropriate unit.

Over recent years the subdivision of land has resulted in some reallocation of units and therefore the above formula may not strictly apply.

A restrictor unit is used with a jet which controls the volume of water to be supplied into your storage tanks.

Non-compliant take of water is a community issue, as it has direct impact on the supply to your neighbour’s and other consumer’s tanks.

It is illegal to tamper with the jet or remove it altogether to obtain more water and may result in enforcement action.

The Timaru District Council regularly undertakes spot checks of restrictor units and carries out volume checks to ensure the correct allocation of water is being supplied.

A charge will be made to reinstate a restrictor jet that has been removed without approval.

Non-compliant connections will be reinstated at cost. Additionally, a fee for unauthorised access to the network will be charged.

Please be aware that there are contributions payable for a new connection and/or per additional unit of water. These costs are located in the fees and charges.

Apply here.

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. This excludes Pareora and St Andrews, which remains at 2 days storage.
• 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