Annual Report 2011 - Watercare

Watercare Services Limited
2011 ANNUAL REPORT
Watercare
at work
Improving Pukekohe’s water supply
Watercare is rolling out a $13.1 million project to construct
a watermain to supply Pukekohe with water from the Waikato
Water Treatment Plant. Preliminary work has commenced, with
the new watermain expected to be operational by mid-2013.
Announcing the project, Watercare’s Chief Executive Mark Ford
said the project will address both water quality and capacity
issues with the existing water supply infrastructure, which was
previously operated by the Franklin District Council.
He said: “At the moment, the water sources and plants in Pukekohe
cannot produce enough water to satisfy peak demand and there
have been long-standing complaints about the water colour
and quality.
“The shortfall between supply and demand is only going to
increase as the population grows. If we do nothing, demand
projections suggest that by 2031 the shortfall alone will be
equivalent to around four million litres per day.”
Watercare took over responsibility for retail water services in
the Auckland Council area from November 2010. A review of
water quality complaints across the region shows a high level
of dissatisfaction in the Franklin area.
Programmes Engineer Frank Lin and Project
Engineer Sharon Danks at the site of preliminary
works in Pukekohe.
Watercare carried out an options evaluation before deciding
on this project. The options included:
1. Maintaining the status quo
2. Expanding existing sources and upgrading the
treatment plants
3. Upgrading the treatment plants and constructing
a smaller watermain to connect Pukekohe to the
Waikato watermain.
The third option, which was selected, is the most robust,
both financially and in terms of the security of the supply.
“If we do nothing, demand projections
suggest that by 2031 the shortfall alone
will be equivalent to around four million
litres per day.”
Safe and reliable water
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