Central Otago District Council (CODC) on Thursday (September 18) provided an update on planned upgrades to the Omakau water supply, and evidence of the need for the work came within hours.

The council said reservoir capacity will be expanded from 180 cubic metres to 540 cubic metres with the installation of 12 additional tanks. 

Just hours later - at 3.30pm on Thursday, following heavy rain, the council issued a conserve water notice after the treatment plant was unable to produce clean supply. 

Residents were advised a boil water notice could follow if conditions worsened.

By 9am Friday, the conserve notice was lifted, after new contractor TRILITY manually operated the plant overnight to maintain reservoir levels until river conditions improved and new monitoring equipment could take over. 

Tanks were replenished and normal water use resumed.

Council said the reservoir expansion will increase water storage capacity to allow the water treatment plant to remain offline for longer periods during similar events in future.

“This investment is a proactive step to ensure our communities have a reliable and robust water supply system,” CODC water services operations manager Andrew Watson said.

“The additional storage not only strengthens our ability to respond to emergencies but also supports the long-term growth and development of Omakau.”

Work is underway and expected to be completed by mid-October as part of a wider programme of improvements to the Omakau/Ophir scheme.

The new tanks have been ordered, and a tank pad is under construction, with TRILITY also on that job.

The council is investigating upgrading the water treatment plant as well.

“The council appreciates everyone’s continued support as we work to deliver safe, reliable drinking water for all our communities,” Andrew said.

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