Waihola drinking water

Restricted scheme information

Introduction

The water supply to Waihola township comes from the North Bruce Rural Water Scheme which supplies hundreds of people in eastern Clutha, including 249 properties in Waihola.

Water supply in Waihola is different to larger places like Balclutha or Milton where water is ‘on demand’ and people don’t need storage tanks at home.

Water tanks and restrictors

There’s only so much water available in Waihola so each property connected to this supply has a restrictor to allow a set flow of water each day. This works like a drip feed - with a small flow of water feeding into each storage tank over a 24 hour period, this provides 1,000 litres of water each day (also known as one unit).

All households are required to have a tank with at least two days’ storage (2000L), but council recommends 4000L, or larger if there’s space on the property. This is helpful for larger families and anyone wanting to provide additional security for their own water supply.

Restrictors are important because they allow everyone on the water supply in Waihola to get an equal share of water. If people remove restrictors, it can mean others miss out, especially those with elevated properties as this can affect water pressure. A larger supply of on-site water could also be invaluable should it ever be needed to for fire-fighting.

Council routinely checks restrictors. It is an offence to remove or tamper with them, and there can be financial penalties for doing this.

Testing

It’s easy to check whether you’re getting the correct volume of water. With the ballcock fully open, hold a 1 litre measuring jug under the inlet which puts water into your tank for one minute. You should have 0.7 litres of water.

Tank cleaning

It’s recommended that you clean your tank every 2-3 years to reduce the amount of sediment in in.

You can learn how to clean your tank and chlorinate water from the Ministry of Health's Household Water Supplies booklet.

Improvements

In 2022 a major upgrade of the North Bruce water treatment plant was completed. This saw $1.6 million of improvements to ensure water is compliant with NZ drinking water standards, also improving colour and removing sediment.

The future

The North Bruce Rural Water Scheme is at capacity and under the current resource consent, no additional water can be taken from its source.

Council recognises that Waihola needs an upgraded water supply to meet the demand for further development in the area.

A planned pipeline from Milton to Waihola will double capacity to 500 units of water for the town. The pipeline contract has been awarded and construction is planned to begin in the coming in early 2023. Additional capacity is expected to be available by the middle of next year.

Get the latest information

If there’s important information about anything water related, from burst pipes to planned water works, you can get this directly from the Council by:

• Downloading the Antenno app from the App Store or Google Play
• Subscribing for text and email alerts updates.