Rural Water Schemes - Four Days Storage Reminder

Do you have enough water?

Unexpected interruptions can occur on any water supply. Natural hazards, weather or other unplanned events such as a damaged pipe can affect the supply and quality of water.

Some of the Waimate District rural water supply intakes draw raw water from local rivers and streams. When the quality of the source water deteriorates due to weather events, and becomes untreatable or disinfection is no longer effective, Council will follow a procedure of ‘selective abstraction’. This means that the intake pumps will be turned off for a period of time until the source water can be treated and disinfected to a compliant level.

Council’s ‘Rural Water Schemes Water Supply Policy December 2011’ requires all rural consumers to have storage capacity of no less than four times your daily water allocation. It is recommended that you allow four times your peak daily usage on your property if it is greater than your daily allocation. Therefore, in the instance of a supply outage such as ‘selective abstraction’, you will have enough water to see you through for four days.

The tank or tanks should be sized for a minimum of four days storage. For example, 1,500 litres per day x 4 days = 6,000 litres or greater. To help monitor storage it is recommended to install a ‘Tell Tale’ water level indicator to show you how much stored water is available in the tank. It also gives warning of issues when there may be water loss through leaks or pipe damage on your property.

If you have any queries, please contact Council on council@waimatedc.govt.nz or 03 689 0000.