Water security a step closer for Tararua township
Mon, 5th Oct 2026 (Today)
Pahiatua residents are one step closer to a more reliable drinking water supply as major upgrades get under way.
Tararua District Council began upgrading Pahiatua's drinking water network on September 28 to deliver roughly three kilometres of new drinking water infrastructure.
The year-long project aimed to create a "a reliable water supply for years to come", council's group manager of operations Hamish Featonby said.
These infrastructure upgrades would include a new trunk main and the installation of a transfer main to replace the leaking 38-year-old water riser main.
Featonby said the "major project" would take around one year to complete.
Pahiatua residents were familiar with water quality issues and interruptions, as a decade ago residents were forced to boil water for days on end after their supply tested positive for E.coli.
Similar water supply interruptions had popped up around the district in more recent years, with two possums found dead in Woodville's drinking water supply in 2024 and a dead cat blocked a pipe in 2022.
Tararua council's chief executive Corin Haines said the project would cost roughly $4 million and was being paid for in two ways - parts of the project which increased capacity for future growth was paid through council borrowing and the rest of the project would be funded through depreciation reserves.
Residents were told to expect minor delays, including traffic management and temporary lane closures along Boundary Rd, six streets, the reservoir access track and a crossing under State Highway 2.
Upgrades to Pahiatua's wastewater plant began in December last year, further strengthening its water security.
In preparation for El Niño conditions, the council announced on Monday it had progressed upgrades at the Ākitio and Pongaroa water treatment plants to provide at least three days of raw water storage and strengthen resilience within more isolated parts of the district.
Further north, the council identified manganese levels in the Norsewood water supply which were above the acceptable level but did not trigger any immediate health risks to residents.
Work was currently under way with national water regulator Taumata Arowai to investigate these issues.
