Water is Food
And Wellington Water is ensuring the region is very well prepared to meet the critical water supply needs of all Wellingtonians in the event of a major earthquake or other civil emergency that damages water supplies.
It’s important to remember that following a major earthquake, the first thing people rely on is themselves and their families, so storing 20 litres of water per person, per day is a must for every household.
A special event was hosted by Wellington Water at Johnsonville Park, Truscott Ave, to open the first of 22 community water stations which form the foundation of Wellington Water’s above ground emergency water supply network.
Wellington’s drinking water supply network is vulnerable. The Wellington region has three water supply plants serving an approx. 1400km2 area and the water network has long supply lines that cross known earthquake faults. A single fault line in a narrow corridor in the Tararua ranges could have a severe impact on Wellington’s water supply.
Filtec is the designer and supplier of the fully containerised Water Treatment Plant showcased at Johnsonville and is working to construct, commission and deliver the remainder of the 22 containers over the coming months.
Filtec’s Managing Director Matt Ewen, Technical Director, Craig Freeman and members of the project team who designed, built and commissioned the first eight of these emergency response containers were at the special event to hear The Minister of Civil Defence, Hon Kris Faafoi recognise the importance of this capability.
“The containerised water treatment plants are a very good example of Filtec’s 25 plus years of experience in water filtration and disinfection, and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to deliver these facilities for Wellington.” said Matt Ewen. “This is a unique project, our team worked closely with Wellington Water and their consulting engineers, Cardno.”
