IN the MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 and in the MATTER Application CRC192123 to Take and Use Groundwater for Community Supply Purposes
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IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 AND IN THE MATTER Application CRC192123 to take and use groundwater for community supply purposes BY TIMARU DISTRICT COUNCIL Applicant TO CANTERBURY REGIONAL COUNCIL Local authority BRIEF OF EVIDENCE OF JUDY CASSANDRA BLAKEMORE Dated: 11 April 2019 INTRODUCTION Qualifications and experience 1. My full name is Judy Cassandra Blakemore. 2. I hold a Bachelor of Engineering in Agricultural Engineering from Lincoln College, University of Canterbury. 3. As a graduate, I worked for South Canterbury Catchment Board (SCCB) as a civil engineer. 4. I left SCCB in 1982 to work for Strathallan County Council, now Timaru District Council, in water supply operations. My current role is Water Supply Operations Engineer where I manage water supply takes, treatment and pumping, and sewer treatment and discharge. 5. I have reviewed the following material: (a) The application for CRC192123; (b) Submissions received on CRC192123; (c) The S42A report of Mikaela Farr of Environment Canterbury; and (d) The Opihi River Regional Plan (ORRP). Code of Conduct 6. Although this is a Council Hearing, I have read the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses contained in the Environment Court's Practice Note dated 1 December 2014 and agree to comply with it. This evidence is within my area of expertise except where I state that I am relying on the evidence of another person. SCOPE OF EVIDENCE 7. My evidence will address the following: 7.1 An overview of Timaru District Council’s Drainage and Water Unit; 7.2 An overview of the current Te Moana water scheme; 2 7.3 The reasons for seeking to change the point of take from the current intake site to the galleries, including an overview of the alternatives considered; and 7.4 An overview of the proposed treatment system. TIMARU DISTRICT COUNCIL’S DRAINAGE AND WATER UNIT 8. The Drainage and Water Unit manages the Council’s water supplies, sewer systems and reticulated stormwater systems. 9. The Council operates 11 water supplies, with 14 sources and 12 water treatment plants. Two of the water supplies provide stock water, four provide domestic and stock water and five provide domestic water only. One supply is within the Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie Districts. TE MOANA WATER SUPPLY 10. The Te Moana supply has been supplying an area of 18,500 hectares with stock and domestic water since 1973. 11. The supply is a restricted scheme. The consumers receive a constant trickle of allocated water designed to deliver the daily volume over 24 hours. Allocated volume is calculated in units. One unit is 1,000 L/day and is the minimum volume supplied. 12. The current source for most of the Te Moana water supply scheme is the Hae Hae Te Moana River. 13. The demand from both stock intensification and new dwellings has increased over time. 14. Since 1992, the Te Moana water supply has been augmented by the Geraldine source. The recourse to the Geraldine source occurs when the consent volume is likely to be reached, or the water from the current Te Moana source cannot be treated due to, for example, high turbidity or power failure. 3 15. In 1999 the area able to be supplied from Geraldine was further expanded. This allowed additional water to be sold to meet increased demand. No additional units of water are available for sale at present. 16. Water from the current Te Moana Source does not meet the Drinking Water Standards for NZ (DWSNZ) as there is no protozoa treatment, only chlorination. 17. The existing source does not have reliable all-weather vehicle access. Walking to the site takes several hours. 18. The existing treatment plant location where the water is chlorinated does not have access to the power requirements needed for a treatment plant. The cost of treating water using diesel generator, solar power or an upgraded power network is prohibitive. 19. The goal for this new source for the Te Moana scheme is to be able to provide appropriate treatment to meet the DWSNZ and to cater for growth for the next 30 years. Some augmentation from Geraldine will still be required. 20. Reticulation upgrades will be necessary in some areas to deliver the growth in demand. This has commenced where water mains have reached the end of life and is an on-going process. INVESTIGATIONS FOR ALTERNATIVE SOURCES 21. Investigations for a Geraldine area wide water strategy commenced in 2009. The requirements were to supply water that meets the DWSNZ and to cater for the expected growth for a 30-year period. 22. An option that was considered was sourcing of water from the Orari River for supplying the Geraldine, Te Moana, Temuka, Winchester, Orari and Orari Waihi water race scheme. Although this would have allowed water takes to cease from 5 sources and the installation of a single treatment plant to be commissioned, the cost of this was prohibitive. Alternative options were thus identified for all those individual schemes. 23. The Orari Waihi water race consumers had alternative water for their houses and determined they did not require a reticulated water supply. 4 24. In 2011 the Council determined it was not economic to supply Temuka from the Orari River and that the existing Temuka water source and treatment plant would continue to supply Temuka and Orari and commence supplying Winchester. 25. The current Geraldine source was determined to be suitable to supply Geraldine and Te Moana and concept design of pipe upgrades to allow this to happen commenced during 2013. 26. In 2015 detailed design commenced on the installation of pipe. Unsuitable ground conditions were identified on key pipe routes which meant that the cost to upgrade from the Geraldine source would increase significantly and was no longer viable for the Te Moana Water supply. Therefore, investigations of alternative sources of water for the Te Moana scheme were conducted. 27. The existing treatment plant location, where the water is chlorinated, does not have access to the power requirements needed for a treatment plant. The cost of treating water using diesel generator, solar power or an upgraded power network is prohibitive. Therefore, a new water source is required for the Te Moana water Supply. 28. The new water source needed to be in a location where the existing water mains could redistribute the water without a significant new mains requirement. This ruled out the Woodbury area. 29. The preferred source is in river gravels where an infiltration gallery could be installed. This has a filtering effect and results in a better quality of water in adverse weather. 30. Better water quality results in: • Less water wastage through the treatment process; and • Less waste produced during the treatment process. The waste will be trucked to the Timaru Waste Water Treatment Plant. 31. The Te Moana Hae Hae River flats were determined to meet all the Council requirements. The Council owned land at the Pleasant Valley Hall. After discussions with the Hall Committee it was determined to proceed with investigations at this site. 5 32. In 2016 the galleries at the proposed Te Moana river source were installed and test pumped. Water samples have been taken in varying weather to determine treatment requirements. 33. Following the testing, it was determined that the proposed new source would allow the Council to supply water that was fully compliant with the DWSNZ. 34. In 2018 the source was confirmed as requiring 3 log treatment for protozoa compliance with DWSNZ. Consultation with affected land owners commenced. In November 2018 the application for CRC193123 was submitted to Environment Canterbury. PROPOSED WATER TREATMENT 35. The estimated cost of the treatment upgrade for 1,500 cubic metres per day is $3,200,000. 36. The treatment process includes: (a) Raw water storage (b) Membrane filtration (may not be used when raw water quality is very good) (c) UV disinfection (d) Chlorination (e) Treated water storage (f) Pumping into the reticulation 37. The resulting improvements include (a) Supplying water that fully meets the DWSNZ (b) Delivering water that is not turbid during a wet weather period (c) Continuous supply of water during a wet weather event (d) A significant reduction in the imposition of boil water notices. (e) Enabling the treatment plant to be shut down for servicing for up to 24 hours while maintaining a continuous supply to consumers. 38. Design is underway and installation is now anticipated to be completed in 2023. Consent CRC992618.1 will be retained until commissioning of the proposed water treatment plant is completed. 6 39. The treatment process is substantial and will remove or disinfect bacteria. There is little risk from the existing dwellings, septic tanks and current farming practices within the protection zone following treatment. COMMENTS ON THE S42A REPORT 40. The location of the take for CRC064043 is on the boundary of the Orari and Opihi river systems. It was omitted from Schedule B of the ORRP however, it was determined to be an A take within the ORRP upon its renewal in 2007. 41. By way of clarification on Table 1 presented in the S42a Report, Table 1 below is a clearer explanation of the consents held by the Timaru District Council in relation to this take (historic, present and proposed). Attachment One is a plan showing an overview of the water supplies in the ORRP catchment. Table 1: Substitution under schedule B of the ORRP for this consent Name of Source Take type Rate Volume Consent number Water L/s m3/day supply Te Moana Te Moana Surface 12 1045 SCY810077 Old River Geraldine Four bores Groundwater 80 6000 CRC920694 Te Moana Te Moana Surface 22.1 1058 CRC992618.1 Current River Geraldine Four bores Groundwater 80 7058 CRC064043 and Te Moana Geraldine Four bores Surface/ 80 7058 CRC064043 Proposed and and two groundwater 20 Total for CRC193123 Te Moana galleries both consents 42.