Drinking water quality and testing

We want to remind residents taking water from their own private bores to ensure that the water consumed by their household is safe.

Download the bore and well information sheet to learn more. (pdf 678 KB)

Residents abstracting water from shallow aquifers which are vulnerable to contamination have a responsibility to have adequate water quality treatment systems in place to ensure their water is safe from potential sources of contamination.

It is also important for landowners to know activities on their properties can have an impact on the water quality in the underground aquifer where the water comes from.

If you have a bore on your property, please ensure contaminated water cannot get back down into the bore either through flooding or backflow.

Contamination can include stagnant water near the well, localised seepage into the well, animal faecal contamination, septic tank seepage, and runoff/seepage following rainfall.

Even if the water from your bore looks clean and smells fine, contamination cannot normally be noticed just by looking at or smelling it.

That’s why it’s important to have a water quality treatment system in place which will ensure the water is safe to drink.

There are a number of treatment options available, ranging from boiling through to filtering, chemical or UV treatments.

If you’re on a private water supply and you have concerns about your drinking water safety, we recommend you:

• Get your water tested.
• Check your filtration system is maintained.
• Consider boiling your water.

If you need advice about water quality from private water supplies, please do not hesitate to contact us and ask to speak to an environmental health officer.

Chlorinating water ensures it always remains safe to drink.

Chlorine provides excellent protection against the risks of bacteria and from some viruses. We have prepared background material for people who have concerns about chlorination.

Why we chlorinate - background information (pdf 48 KB)

Tasman District Council does not add fluoride to any of the water supplies it owns and operates. Fluoride does occur naturally at low levels, however.

Any decision to require fluoride to be added to any water supply is made by the Director General of Health, not Council. We have not, at this time, been directed to do so.

The following link to the Ministry of Health provides relevant information on this topic - Director-General of Health’s role in decision-making on the fluoridation of drinking-water supplies.

The National Drinking Water Standards require regular testing to be done at all of the plants and in the zones on a set schedule.

The testing we do varies depending on the plant, but generally involves taking a sample to be tested in the lab for E.coli and other on-site tests such as chlorine level. Zone samples might be taken at reservoirs or at the farthest reach of that system.

What kinds of things do we test for?

The main lab testing is for E.coli, but we also test for lead and nitrate. On site we also regularly test for pH, chlorine and turbidity (cloudiness of the water).

Remote monitoring

We can also monitor the performance of every treatment plant online through our telemetry system. Should anything go wrong, an alarm will be generated in the system and this will be texted to the on call person to let them know straight away.

Diagram of the Brightwater / Hope water supply

Brightwater Water Supply covers the urban Brightwater area, and extends along Main Road Hope to the southern side of Bateup Road in Richmond.

Water is taken from three bores close to the Wairoa River in Brightwater. The water is chlorinated for disinfection purposes.

General water quality parameters for the Brightwater Water Supply

Diagram of the Collingwood water supply

Collingwood Water Supply takes water from a bore near the Aorere River. The water is aerated and passes through a lime filter for pH control. The water is chlorinated for disinfection purposes. The scheme is fully metered except for one connection

General water quality parameters for the Collingwood Water Supply

Diagram of the Dovedale rural water supply

The Dovedale Rural Water Supply takes water from a creek in Dovedale.

Water is supplied to the rural Dovedale area, Upper Moutere and Rosedale Road. The water passes through a sedimentation tank before being chlorinated. Water is supplied entirely by restricted connections to private water tanks.

Note - Permanent Boil Water Notice

The Dovedale supply has a permanent boil water notice in place as the required concentration of chlorine cannot always be maintained to the end of the network, especially when the creek is in flood and raw water becomes dirty. There are units being sold on this supply.

General water quality parameters for the Dovedale Water Supply

Diagram of the Eighty-Eight Valley rural water supply

Eighty-Eight Valley Rural Water supply takes water from a creek close to the southern end of Eighty-Eight Valley Road.

Water is supplied to the rural 88 Valley Road area and as far north as Mount Heslington Road.

The water has coarse filtration and then is chlorinated.

Water is supplied entirely by restricted connections to private water tanks. No new units are being sold on this water supply.

General water quality parameters for the 88 Valley Water Supply

Diagram of the Kaiteriteri water supply

Kaiteriteri water supply takes water from a deep bore in Riwaka.

Water is supplied to Main Road Riwaka, most of Riwaka-Kaiteriteri Road and as far north as Kaiteriteri-Sandy Bay Road.

Permanent chlorination was introduced in May 2021. All connections are metered.

General water quality parameters for the Kaiteriteri Water Supply

Diagram of the Motueka water supply

Motueka water supply covers only a third of the town, with many properties having their own private bore water supply (sometimes as well as a council supply connection).

The Council supply takes its water from deep groundwater bores. Permanent chlorination of the supply was agreed by Council in May 2021 and will be introduced in due course.

General water quality parameters for the Motueka Water Supply

Diagram of the Murchison water supply

Murchison water supply takes it water from two bores close to the Matakitaki River.

The water is aerated for pH control and then chlorinated and UV treated for disinfection purposes.

The scheme is almost fully metered.

General water quality parameters for the Murchison Water Supply

Diagram of the Pōhara water supply

The Pōhara water supply takes water from a creek in Pōhara Valley. The water is filtered and chlorinated.  Only the Pōhara Valley area is supplied, with an extension to the Pōhara Camp.

General water quality parameters for the Pōhara Water Supply

Diagram of the Redwood Valley rural water supply

Redwood Valley Rural Water Supply takes water from three shallow bores in the Redwood Valley/ Waimea plains area. 

The water is aerated for pH control and then chlorinated for disinfection purposes.

There are currently no new units being sold on this supply.

General water quality parameters for the Redwood Valley Rural Water Supply

(*treated water and raw water respectively)

Diagram of the Richmond water supply

Richmond water supply covers properties from Wakatu Industrial Estate in the north to Haycock Road rural extension in the south. It includes the Richmond and Waimea Industrial zones.

Richmond Zone

The ‘Richmond zone’ covers the urban area as far as Templemore Drive and Arbor Lea Ave. The supply extends south to Bateup Road, and includes a rural extension along Hill Street South. Connections are metered in the urban area, with restrictors in the rural area.

Waimea Industrial Zone

The ‘Waimea Industrial Zone’ covers the area around Champion Road, south to Templemore drive and Heritage Crescent and Arbor Lea and includes the Daelyn Drive area (in Nelson). It also includes Wakatu Industrial Estate, McPherson St, Fittal St and Cargill Place. This zone is fully metered.

Source

Water is sourced from two sets of bores which are mixed in-line, disinfected with UV and pH corrected using caustic soda. Permanent chlorination was introduced in May 2021.

General water quality parameters for the Richmond Water Supply

Diagram of the Tapawera water supply

Tapawera Water Supply takes water from two bores close to the Motueka River.

The water has lime added for pH control and is chlorinated and UV treated for disinfection purposes.

General water quality parameters for the Tapawera Water Supply

Diagram of the Upper Tākaka water supply

Upper Tākaka Water Supply takes water from a creek on Tākaka Hill.

The water undergoes sedimentation, filtration, and UV disinfection. Permanent chlorination of the supply was agreed by Council in May 2021 and will be introduced in due course.

Please contact us if you'd like more information on the Upper Tākaka supply.

Diagram of the Māpua/Ruby Bay water supply

This supply covers the Māpua Urban area (mostly metered) and Ruby Bay rural area (mostly restrictors).

The zone extends from Old Coach Road at its westernmost point, to Permin Road, Tasman at its northern point.

Water is taken from bores, chlorinated for disinfection and pH corrected using lime.

General water quality parameters for the Waimea Water Supply

Diagram of the Wakefield water supply

The Wakefield water supply covers the urban Wakefield area, Pigeon Valley and extends along Main Road Spring Grove, as far as the Spring Grove church.

Water is taken from a shallow well and infiltration gallery close to the Wai-iti River in Wakefield.

The water is aerated for pH control and chlorinated for disinfection purposes.

The Waimea Water Strategy is included in the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan. It includes new and upgraded infrastructure including source, treamtent and reticulation to improve level of service and growth capacity to Wakefield and Brightwater

General water quality parameters for the Wakefield Water Supply