Gore’s water supply now fully treated
The Gore District Council is pleased to announce that Gore’s entire water supply is now treated at the East Gore Water Treatment Plant (WTP), marking a major milestone in delivering safe, clean drinking water to the community.
The project was completed on time and under budget, despite its complex and technically challenging nature. It required detailed planning and careful coordination to ensure continuity of water supply and public safety throughout construction.
Mayor Ben Bell said this was a high-risk, high-reward project.
“Access to safe drinking water is essential for our community. Completing this project on time and under budget, while managing its technical complexity, shows Council’s commitment to investing responsibly in critical infrastructure that protects the health and wellbeing of our residents now and into the future.
“Many things could have gone wrong and there was potential for budget blowouts. The fact that the project has been delivered under budget is a real credit to Council staff and everyone involved,” he said.
General Manager Critical Services Jason Domigan said this connection gives the Council greater resilience and flexibility.
“The importance of supplying groundwater from two borefields means we can better manage challenges like rising nitrate levels. The Jacobstown well has significantly lower nitrate concentrations, so blending its water with Coopers Well supply helps keep levels safe for our community.”
He said the recent increase in nitrate levels at Coopers Well has meant the Council had to use river water to dilute the concentrations of nitrates. But now that Jacobstown is connected, this will allow it to manage these levels as the water from Jacobstown will dilute the water supplied to the treatment plant from Coopers Well rather than using water from the Mataura River.
The river water bears a lot of debris during floods and high water so often clogs the intake filters and impacts on the ability to dilute.
Mr Domigan said concentrating the water from both bores through one treatment plant not only improves the quality of the water but also cuts down on costs, as water treatment costs do not need to be duplicated.
Earlier this year, nitrate levels at Coopers Well exceeded the Maximum Acceptable Value of 11.3 mg/L, prompting a precautionary “Do Not Drink” notice and deployment of water tankers. Council acted swiftly, diluting the supply with Mataura River water and flushing hydrants across the network.
“We’ve learned a lot from that event,” Mr Domigan said.
“We now have a broader mitigation toolkit in place, including real-time monitoring, buffer zones, and land safeguards. Centralising treatment at East Gore is a key part of future-proofing our water supply.”
Three Waters operations manager Aaron Green said one of the most complex aspects of the project involved drilling two pipes beneath the Mataura River.
“This work was completed without interrupting the town’s water supply, thanks to precise engineering and strict operational controls.”
Benefits for Residents
Treating all of Gore’s water at the East Gore WTP provides:
- Improved consistency in water quality
- Greater resilience in the water supply system
- Reduced compliance costs by operating a single treatment plant
Mr Green said as a result of this project, both Gore and Mataura water supplies now meet protozoa compliance requirements set by the national drinking water regulator, Taumata Arowai.
“We will continue to monitor system performance and make further improvements where required.
“Council thanks residents for their patience and understanding during the delivery of this project and acknowledges the hard work and dedication of staff, contractors, and partners who contributed to this important milestone,’’ he said.
