Waiouru Water Supply

Treated water for the supply of Waiouru township is purchased from the NZ Army Training Group. The intake and Water Treatment Plant are owned and operated by the Army. Council purchases the treated water from the Army in bulk and distributes it to the township, including the Army Museum. Council is only responsible for the operation and maintenance of the reticulation system within the 'civilian' area of the Waiouru township.

The following information refers to the supply and treatment of water by the NZ Army Training Group.

Where does my water come from?

Water for the supply of Waiouru comes from the Waiouru Stream Dam. Water is screened as it enters the intake structure (shown in the figure below) to remove larger debris such as sticks, leaves, fish and rubbish.

Is my water treated?

Yes, water is treated at the Waiouru Water Treatment Plant, located within the Waiouru Army Base facility.

Water treatment at the Waiouru Water Treatment Plant consists of the following:

Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) Dissolved organic material in the water can cause taste and odour problems. To remove organic compounds Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) is added to the water supply. Organic particles attach themselves to the surface of the carbon which is then removed from the water supply by finer filtration.
Sediment Settling Small unwanted particles or solids, such as fine sand and dirt, are removed from the water by adding a coagulant which gathers the solids into a cluster, creating larger solids which quickly settle to the bottom. Clean water can be taken from the top. This process takes place in clarifiers (pictured below).

Finer Filtration Water is passed through layers of sand and gravel to further remove impurities. Small water molecules pass through the holes between sand and gravel pieces and clean water is collected in a drain at the bottom. Unwanted solids get stuck in the holes, and are thus retained in the sand and gravel medium. This medium is washed from time to time to remove the unwanted solids. The filtration system, consisting of three sand filtration tanks, is shown below.

Chlorination & pH Correction The water is dosed with chlorine to kill off contaminants (bugs) in the reservoirs and pipes. pH correction is used when required to ensure effective disinfection with chlorine.

Where is my water stored?

Treated water is stored in two reservoirs which have a combined volume of 3,785m3 and are located on Tank hill, above and to the East of the Waiouru Army Base Camp.

Water monitoring

Online monitoring through Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) provides information about the water treatment. This system checks that water parameters stay within set values for 24 hours every day and will alert the Plant Operator if it changes.

Our pipelines

The Waiouru Water Supply Reticulation Network, owned and maintained by Ruapehu District Council, consists of around 2.5km of pipeline. A map of the reticulation network is provided in the link at the bottom of this page. Most pipes are 100mm in diameter and Asbestos Cement is the main pipe material.

Schematic

The following schematic shows flow through the water supply scheme.

Waiouru Water Reticulation Network Map

Waiouru water supply reticulation network (PDF, 335.7KB)