Construction of new water supply infrastructure between Whakatāne and Huna Road is not for bringing water into town from the plains - but it could.

The watermains construction project involves the installation of new drinking water pipes to support planned housing on Kawarehe Trust land on Huna Road and the recently rezoned land where Julian’s Berry Farm is located.

Three waters manager Jim Finlay said about 620 metres of 400mm diameter polyethylene drinking water pipe was being installed along SH30, and around 500metres of 180mm pipe along Huna Road.

“The Kawarehe Trust has consent for 57 houses, and the Julian’s Berry Farm site has potential for around 175 houses, although the exact nature and scale of development will be confirmed through a comprehensive development plan or resource consent process,” Finlay said.

The larger diameter pipe was designed to future-proof the supply for anticipated growth.

Asked about speculation from the public that the pipe would be used for bringing a new bore water source into town to replace the current inferior quality water supply, which comes from the river, Finlay said there had been no decision made to do this.

He emphasised that the Whakatāne water supply meets all Drinking Water Standards.

However, he said the pipe was large enough to enable the option of sourcing water from an alternative groundwater source if the council chose to do this. 

Construction began in early September and is on track to be completed by the end of November.

“We appreciate the community’s patience while this important mahi is carried out. Please take care when travelling through the area and follow all temporary traffic management measures in place.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.