The reservoir was holding about 93 megalitres of water and had to be drained.
Bringing the Te Tahi Water Treatment Plant back into service will cost an estimated $16.48 million.
Pipe work was exposed and damaged at Mangauika Stream which fed the Te Tahi Water Treatment Plant. Photo: Jesse Wood
The rural water reservoir, destroyed in storms in February, supplied more than half the water to Pirongia, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi.
Council’s waters transition programme lead Kevan Scott said a long-term solution had yet to be identified to replace the water treatment plant, near the base of Mt Pirongia.
The damage is expected to take three years to repair.
The storm recovery cost was expected to be partially covered by an insurance claim, Scott said.
“We are moving as fast as we can, but there are a whole lot of considerations – not least, how the insurance plays out over the next few months, and whether we can access any recovery funding from central Government,” Scott said.
The plant previously supplied more than half the drinking water to Pirongia, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi – up to 10 million litres of water a day.
Waikato Waters, the council-controlled organisation taking over Waipa’s water supply and wastewater services on July 1, would determine the long-term solution to the district’s water supply capacity, Scott said.
Staff are working to increase the district’s water supply before the anticipated increase in summer 2026-27, Scott said.
“In the short term we are working as fast as we can to maintain current levels of supply to meet the demand that’s here today, and if possible, to meet the expected demand over summer.”
Rainwater tanks were being used temporarily so new developments within the impacted area could be connected to the reticulated network.
The rainwater tanks would allow individual buildings to have a water supply, but they were separate from the public supply network, Scott said.
The district council says alternative supplies could provide about nine million litres a day – but that is well short of peak summer demand of about 13 million litres a day and water restrictions appear inevitable.
See: State of Emergency extended
Waipā District Council water services manager Karl Pavlovich with Mangauika Stream and its path of destruction in the background. Photo: Jesse Wood
