A $5million reservoir planned for Ōtaki will ensure security of supply for Ōtaki residents and is not connected in any way to issues of supply for Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati, Kāpiti Coast District Council’s chief executive, Pat Dougherty, said today.
” Ōtaki residents get their water supply from bores alongside the Ōtaki River. This system can be at risk in the event of a bore pump breakdown or power failure.
“To ensure security of supply, the Council proposed in the 2009 Long Term Council Community Plan that a large storage tank or concrete reservoir be built with work commencing in 2010/11.
“Under the new arrangement, water will not be pumped directly into the reticulation as it is now, but pumped to the reservoir. If there are pump or power failures, then there will be stored water available to provide security of supply for Ōtaki,” Mr Dougherty said.
“The building of the reservoir has been planned for some time. There is no connection between the planned reservoir and any possible considerations of out-of-catchment supply from the Ōtaki River to any other parts of the District.”
Preliminary work on the reservoir will commence in 2010/11 and it is budgeted at $558,000. The reservoir is expected to be completed in 2011/12 at a total cost of around $5million.
“It’s unfortunate that a media story last weekend confused the issue and gave rise to concerns for Ōtaki residents that there was some connection between their reservoir and any other options for water supply to the south,” Mr Dougherty said.
