Water
Water Quality
We are presently undertaking a project to upgrade the Gore and Mataura water treatment plants to make sure they meeting the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards. The standards’ guidelines ensure all potable water is safe to drink.
We monitor and carry out weekly testing of plant and water samples to ensure the drinking water meets national standards.
The Council has produced a water safety plan for all of its schemes that identifies the potential health risks to the consumers of the drinking water supply. The plan also sets out what we are doing to eliminate, minimise or mitigate the potential risks.
For more information the NZ Water and Wastes Association has produced this interesting booklet: The Story of Drinking Water.
What if there is a water leak?
On Your Property – a leaking internal house pipe or any pipe upstream of your boundary tap on your property is your responsibility to fix. You need to contact your plumber to find the problem.
On the Council’s property – if you notice a leak on public property such as a footpath, road or park, please contact the Council as soon as possible.
Where does our water come from?
Gore
The Gore water supply network consist of about 116km of pipeline, with 3850 commercial and residential connections. The scheme supplies an average of 3.9 million litres of water per day.
The water comes from Cooper's Well and Jacobstown Wells.
These well fields are separated by the Mataura River and are located in the river’s flood plain. During emergencies or dry periods, we have consent to pump water from the Mataura River to artificially recharge the aquifer at both wells.
Cooper’s Wells
Cooper’s Wells are located about 5km north-east of Gore, surrounded by a dairy farm. They are the main water source for Gore, providing on average 2,600 cubic metres of water per day. We have consent to take up to 5,000 cubic metres per day.
Water from the wells is pumped to the East Gore Water Treatment Plant before being distributed to East Gore, as well as being pumped across the river to properties on lower lying land in Central Gore and West Gore.
Jacobstown Wells
The Jacobstown Wells are located in North Gore at the start of the Waimea Highway. There are two wells and on average 1,200 cubic metres is pumped daily. We have consent to take up to 3,000 cubic metres per day.
The water is pumped to the Hilbre Avenue Water Treatment Plant where it is treated before being distributed to West Gore properties.
Mataura
Pleura Stream
The Pleura Stream is located east of Mataura on Cameron Road. We use an average of 1,080 cubic metres a day. We have consent to take up to 1,500 cubic metres per day. The water is piped from a dam on the Pleura Stream to the Mataura water treatment plant where it is treated before being distributed to Mataura properties.
Waikana Stream
The Waikana Stream is located east of Mataura, near Crawford Road. During low flows from the Pleura Stream, water is pumped from the Waikana Stream to the Mataura water treatment plant to supplement our water supply. We have consent to take up to 600 cubic metres per day.
Rural
There is one rural water supply scheme – the Otama Rural Water Supply Scheme. This scheme is owned by the Otama Rural Water Ltd. Downer NZ manages the scheme for the company, whose directors have been elected by scheme users.
Scheme users wanting to report any leaks or issues will need to ring (03) 218 2963. Callers need to leave a detailed message - name, phone number, address, tank number and brief description of the issue.
The water for the scheme is sourced from a bore at Pyramid. The consent has a maximum water take of 2600 cubic metres a day.
The Otama Rural Water Supply Scheme consists of
- 239km of pipelines
- 264 rural connections
