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When it comes to water, this area has had a ton of it so far this year, but things are predicted to go to the other extreme, and get a lot drier in the coming months.
As many residential households in Whangaparāoa remain reliant on tank water, water carriers are gearing up for a busy season.
And there is something new on offer, with two companies working together to meet what they predict will be high demand and bring Waiwera’s bottle-quality water to Whangaparāoa’s rainwater tanks.
Water by Nature is a rural tank delivery service that sources its water from the bore on a 10 hectare farm, just west of Waiwera.
The bore was originally sunk by former Waiwera Thermal Pools owner John St Clair Brown in around 2007, before he sold the property to Waiwera Water co-directors, Mikhail Khimich and Leon Fingerhut.
The bore is 180-metres deep and the water has been carbon dated at more than 10,000 years old.
Their plan to build a bottling plant there and sell the water internationally was scuppered when neighbours objected and Water by Nature co-owners Elaine Jones and Rob Knight purchased the property from Khimich nearly eight years ago.
The company primarily supplies the Wainui, Waitoki, Waiwera and Puhoi area but Jones says with a dry summer predicted, they are trialling working with Aquaman Water Rescue to supply Whangaparāoa Peninsula’s many household rainwater tanks.
A key selling point is that the Waiwera water is unchlorinated – Jones says there is demand from those who enjoy their rainwater supply and are looking for an alternative to treated city water when their tanks get dry.
“Because it will be transported from Waiwera, it is likely to be priced above the town supply,” she says. “But it’s fantastic water – almost too good for flushing down the toilets!”
“Everybody I talk to says that it’s going to be dry. Best to be prepared for it,” she says.
Watercare replaces pressure restrictions with shutdowns
Watercare says it will no longer be reducing the water pressure in its tanker filling stations (where water delivery trucks fill up) but may close them altogether for a fixed duration. The pressure reductions were frustrating for water delivery businesses in past years, increasing the time it took to get water to customers. Watercare’s head of commercial customers, Tim Scheirlinck, says although restricting the pressure of tanker filling stations was done in the past, Watercare no longer does this. “Instead, if we need to reduce or stop usage, we may close the tanker filling stations for a fixed duration,” he says, adding that Watercare’s priority is to keep all 12 tanker filling stations open at all times. “We would only close a tanker filling station temporarily if, for example, a large watermain burst nearby, urgent maintenance or repairs were required, or if the demand on the station couldn’t be sustained. Closing the tanker filling stations instead of restricting the pressure enables us to give more certainty on the water supply availability for tanker operators. In all instances we aim to give tanker operators as much notice as possible.” • Watercare offers a ‘town to tank connection’ which is designed to top up a rain tank over a few days as the flow rate is around two to eight litres per minute. Info: look for Town to Tank Water Service page on Watercare’s website.
Hot summer predicted
NIWA is predicting that the final months of this year are likely to see near average or above average temperatures, with a 50 percent chance that rainfall will be below normal. An increased frequency of high pressure systems near the region will likely lead to longer dry spells. Soil moisture levels are likely to be below normal. Forecasters do not release their Summer Outlook until the end of November.
