Westport and Carters Beach water supply trunk main changeover
Buller District Council shut down the Westport and Carters Beach water supply today to change over the water trunk main to town.
The water supply trunk main replacement project aims to replace the aging trunk main water pipes supplying Westport and Carters Beach consumers. Replacement of aging key water infrastructure assets will benefit the community with a more resilient network and reduced water losses.
Manager infrastructure delivery Eric de Boer says: “The existing gravity-fed trunk main was built between 1903 and 1915. It has exceeded its serviceable life and therefore poses a risk in terms of reliability, resilience, and compliance.
New polyethylene (PE) pipe is replacing the old 8” cast iron and 14” steel pipes which have approached the end of their effective service life. The new PE pipe is thick and virtually indestructible.”
Today the team commissioned a large section of this new trunk main pipeline; from the treated water reservoir on the terrace down to Scotts Bridge on Stephens Road. This is a significant milestone achieved. Prior to the pipeline replacement programme, at times the existing supply lines were losing around 40% of the water being carried down the terrace to Westport through leaks.
This project aims to ensure the Westport and Carters Beach communities have a resilient drinking water supply into the future.
Mr de Boer says “This is a significant step forward in our trunk main replacement programme. Todays commissioning is a carefully orchestrated set of engineering steps, safety checks and making the final connections”.
Council appreciate it is a significant water outage to the consumers, but Mr de Boer says: “When successfully concluded it will be worth the inconvenience. It will see us step over to the new line providing our consumers with a more resilient trunk main line as we head into a NIWA seasonal forecast for a long and hot summer.”
The pipeline commissioned today is part of a wider investment programme funded by Council and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) as part of its ‘shovel-ready’ water infrastructure investment programme.
The trunk main section being commissioned today is a $6.5M portion of this investment.
Mr de Boer says, “As well as this trunk main replacement we look to achieve today, more work is also being investigated to further fix up the Giles Creek catchment area to minimise disruptions to the water supply”.
Council continues to work on seeking long term solutions to improve Westport’s water supply resilience.
We appreciate consumers patience today as specialists from Hadlee & Brunton and WestReef Services step through the commissioning workplan. When everything goes well and the new trunk main is successfully commissioned online, the workers deserve a special recognition in realising this project.
“These guys deserve a pat on the back and a cold beer when this is done.” said Eric de Boer Manager Infrastructure Delivery.
Background:
The Westport water supply is sourced from Giles Creek in the hills to the southwest of the town at the base of Mt Rochfort.
The trunk main is being replaced from the reservoir to McKenna Road and heading into Westport.
New polyethylene (PE) pipe is replacing the old 8” cast iron and 14” steel pipes which has approached the end of its effective service life. The new PE pipe is thick and virtually indestructible. It is welded together in sections.
The section of work from the Terrace towards town is complete to Scotts Bridge. Prior to this work, the existing supply lines were losing around 40% of the water being carried down the terrace and to Westport through leaks.
For more information on this project go to our project page.
-ENDS-
For further information please contact:
Eric de Boer
Manager Infrastructure Delivery
eric.deboer@bdc.govt.nz