SECTION THREE: HOW WATER GETS TO OUR TAPS This section explores how water is delivered from water collection areas to our taps. SECTION 3: HOW WATER GETS TO OUR TAPS THE PURPOSE OF THIS SECTION IS TO HELP STUDENTS TO: • Understand how water gets from the water collection area to their taps • Understand that getting water to taps takes time, energy and money OVERARCHING CONCEPTS FOR SECTION THREE: • Water is collected from dams, aquifers and groundwater and is distributed through a network of pipes to residents 44 SECTION 3: HOW WATER GETS TO OUR TAPS Learning experiences – Section Three Learning Learning Curriculum links Content experiences intentions (Achievement objectives) Students will . 1. OUR WATER SUPPLY • Understand how drinking water is Social Sciences: Level 4 Students examine a map collected for Hamilton City, Waikato describing the water sources in Understand how producers and consumers and Waipa Districts water supply. their local area. They then identify exercise their rights and meet their where their water comes from and • Identify where their drinking water is responsibilities. how it gets to their school. collected from. 2. WATER’S JOURNEY • Understand how drinking water gets Social Sciences: Level 4 Students order steps in the from water collection areas to taps. process of getting water from the Understand how producers and consumers TO OUR TAPS water collection area to our taps. • Identify who is responsible for exercise their rights and meet their delivering water to residents. responsibilities Technology: Level 3 Nature of Technology: Characteristics of technology Understand how society and environments impact on and are influenced by technology in historical and contemporary contexts and that technological knowledge is validated by successful function. 3. THE RIGHT WATER • Recognise the difference between Social Sciences: Level 3 View examples of treated drinking treated water, untreated water, water, untreated water, greywater Understand how people make decisions about IN THE RIGHT PLACE greywater and wastewater. and wastewater. Learn about the access to and use of resources. differences between the types of • Describe safe uses for the different Health: Level 3 water and describe appropriate types of water. Personal Health and uses for each. Physical Development: Safety management Identify risks and their causes and describe safe practices to manage these. 4. NO WATER SUPPLY • Understand the possible effects of Health: Level 3 Students are led through an earthquake on the water supply Personal Health and a scenario involving a fictional FOR A DAY network. Physical Development: earthquake. They investigate Safety management the possibility of a disrupted • Plan the use of emergency water Identify risks and their causes and describe water supply and make plans to supplies during a natural disaster. safe practices to manage these. prioritise emergency water use. Social Sciences: Level 4 Understand how people participate individually and collectively in response to community challenges. 45 3:1 OUR WATER SUPPLY – TEACHER NOTES Background knowledge CurrIcUlUM LINKS Methods of water collection There are a variety of different methods used around New Zealand to get water Social Sciences: Level 4 to our taps. Methods include: Understand how 1. Collection from roofs directing rainwater into tanks. producers and consumers exercise their 2. Pump systems in streams to transport water to houses. rights and meet their 3. Intake pipes to divert water from rivers, streams, bores and springs into water responsibilities treatment plants and then into a piped network. 4. Bores and wells to extract water from the ground directly to homes or to a Other curriculum links: L 3 and 4 piped network. Mathematics: Geometry The worldwide situation and Measurement Technology: Nature of technology In New Zealand, most people receive water that is diverted from rivers, streams, bores or springs into a piped network. Worldwide, improved water and sanitation has been a focus of large international orgainisations and improvements have been made, yet 663 million people rely on unimproved sources of water, including 159 million who depend only on surface water8. EDUCATION FOR Water collection areas in Hamilton City, SUSTAINABILITY Waikato and Waipa regions For each of our districts, the pipe network receives water from different places CONCEPTS and distributes it to our taps. Interdependence/ • Hamilton City Council - 100 % from the Waikato River. Whanaungatanga: • Waikato District Council - 75% from the Waikato River. The remaining Everything and everyone quarter (25%) comes from springs (Raglan and Onewhero), a bore in our world is connected (Te Akau), Maraetai stream (Port Waikato) and a piped connection to Auckland’s southern water supply (Tuakau and Pokeno). Equity: respect for all life, social justice, • Waipa District Council - 37% from Mangauika Stream (Te Awamutu and Pirongia), 6% from two bores (Kihikihi) 35% from springs (rural supply and intergenerational equity, Cambridge), 22% from the Waikato River (Cambridge, Pukerimu, Ohaupo finite resources and Airport). Water supply to different suburbs Usually, water collected in certain areas is supplied to certain suburbs or towns. However, where possible our water supply system is flexible. Sometimes water from one area can be supplied to another nearby area if needed. This generally happens when maintenance is being carried out on the pipe network. 8 World Health Organisation. n.d. Fact Sheet 391, July 2014 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs391/en/ 46 Water Infrastructure Students can use your Councils Geographical Information Systems to see the full RESOUrCES water network. “Hamilton’s Bulk Water Hamilton: In the top ribbon choose “Layers”. Just click “water”, “property Supply Network” poster boundaries” and “aerial 2012”. Zoom in to see the detail. http://gisviewer.hcc.govt.nz/templates/3Waters/ “Hamilton’s Water Source” Waikato: Choose your area from the drop down centre bottom of the screen poster Under “Modules” menu (top left) choose “Utilities”. Under :Layers” (middle left) “Waipa’s Bulk Water unselect all except “Place label” and “Water Supply”. Within “Water Supply” unselect “WS Valves” and “WS Point”. http://maps.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/ Supply Network” poster IntraMaps80/default.htm?project=Waikato&configId=b2549ae1-f643-4ac6- “Waipa’s Water Source” 9586-211ba985dd8f poster Waipa: In left menu under modules choose “Utilities”. Under Layers only have “Road Names” from Transport tab selected. Select all under “Water supply” except “water supply points”. Also select “aerials”. Zoom in to see the detail. http://maps.waipadc.govt.nz/intramaps80/?project=Waipa&configId=c9a5d33f- 2458-4f3b-888c-a89e47729685 Hamilton’s Water Collection Area The intake is located on the banks of the Waikato River, off Waiora Terrace in Fitzroy, on the southern edge of the city. This is in the lower reaches of the Waikato River, which starts at Lake Taupo, with predominantly farming activity in the catchment, even though the intake is an urban area. From the Water Treatment Plant it is distributed to eight reservoirs around the city that provides a source of gravity to assist water pressure into neighbourhoods and helps with the supply of water during periods of high water demand. Waipa’s Water Collection Areas The Te Awamutu Water Collection Area The supply is taken from the Mangauika Stream on Mount Pirongia which is a catchment covered in native bush (Pirongia State Forest Park). There is a weir (small dam) in the stream that raises the level of the water. A proportion of the water from the stream is diverted into an intake pipe below the weir. Waipa District Council has a resource consent for this intake. It covers the maximum abstraction flow (the maximum amount of water allowed to be taken) and a minimum flow rate for the stream (after abstraction) to protect fisheries and aquatic habitat values. From the weir, the water is piped to a large storage dam then onto the Te Tahi Water Treatment Plant and distributed to Pirongia, Te Awamutu and the surrounding properties. Water is stored in two concrete water supply reservoirs in Te Awamutu located on Frontier Road and Taylors Hill. 47 The Kihikihi Water Collection Area RESOUrCES The supply is taken from the Waikato local aquifer and is sourced by two bores “Waipa’s Bulk Water in the center of town (Hall Street and Church Street). From the bores, the water Supply Network” poster is piped to the Rolleston Street Water Treatment Plant and distributed to Kihikihi township and surrounding properties. Water is stored at the Water Treatment “Waipa’s Water Source” Plant in two (steel and concrete) reservoirs. poster The Cambridge, Leamington and Karapiro Water Collection Areas Serviced by three sources: • Hicks Road Springs • Lake Karapiro • Waikato River (from below the Karapiro dam). Hicks Road Springs The supply is taken from two separate springs that are quite close together in bush gullies on the lower slopes of Mount Maungatautari. Each spring is fenced off and covered with a corrugated iron building to increase security of the water source. Each spring is tapped by a gravity fed draw off point with the water being diverted into an intake pipe. From the springs, the water is piped to the Hicks Road Water Treatment Plant and is stored in the Karapiro reservoirs above Maungatautari Road. The water is distributed to Cambridge and the surrounding rural properties. Lake Karapiro The intake is located on the banks of Lake Karapiro which was formed by damming the Waikato River. The intake is at the southern end by the dam. The Water Treatment Plant is right beside the lake (5.8 km south-east from Cambridge town center). From the intake, the water is piped to the Karapiro Water Treatment Plant and then pumped to the Karapiro township, surrounding properties. Water is stored in the Karapiro reservoirs above Maungatautari Road and in other reservoirs in Cambridge North and Hautapu. Waikato River (two intakes, one at Alpha Street and one at Pukerimu Lane) The intakes are located on the banks of the Waikato River, downstream of Cambridge.