Where does our water come from and is it safe?
Te Moana supplies around 18,500 hectares. The Te Moana Treatment Plant is located on the corner of School Road and Pleasant Valley Road. This is water is treated with microfiltration, UV and chlorine.
The Geraldine Downs and Flats are supplied from the Geraldine Reservoir, which is supplied by the Geraldine Water Treatment Plant on Orari Station Road. This is treated with UV and chlorine.
The Te Moana supply is a restricted water supply. This means the daily allocation is supplied into a tank at a constant rate over a 24-hour period. If the tank is full the ballcock shuts off the flow.
Who looks after the water supply?
The Council is responsible for the management and operation of the water supply and uses contractors to carry out maintenance work and is also responsible for the entire system up to and including your ballcock provided:
- the ballcock is not located inside a dwelling, and
- 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.
How is the water allocated?
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.
How is the supply managed during dry weather conditions?
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
Need a new service connection?
Water availability is contingent upon adhering to the allocation rules and successfully passing a hydraulic assessment. For more details and to access the application form for requesting a new connection to the Te Moana Scheme, obtaining extra water, or reallocating an existing connection, please apply below, or retrieve an application form from the Council Offices or any of our Service Centres.
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.
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.
- Outlet piping arrangement from the storage tank such as a minimum of 20% of the tank volume be held in reserve.
- Approved external level indication of water in storage tanks.
Last updated: 11 Sep 2024