Rural Drinking Water Partnership kicks off with 120 new water treatment plants to be built
New standardised water treatment plants will be fabricated at our purpose-built facility over the next few years as a partnership between FILTEC and Crown Infrastructure Partners kicked off last week to deliver clean, safe rural drinking water to communities across New Zealand.
Since the Government’s Rural Drinking Water Programme was announced in early November, interest from communities has been strong and FILTEC is gearing up to meet demand for approximately 120 new plants by utilising our workshop facility in Mount Wellington to assemble them.
The systems, which range in volume from 25 to 100 cubic metres, will be crafted by skilled specialists at FILTEC’s workshop, customised to meet each community’s water requirements, then transported to site where one of our local partners will work alongside FILTEC to install and maintain them.
As part of the support package, regional representatives get access to maintenance and training from technical experts on how to manage and maintain the systems for up to five years.
Matt Ewen, Managing Director of FILTEC, said the business is excited to get underway with a programme of works that will deliver significant benefits to some of the country’s most remote communities.
“We are proud to be part of an initiative that will help deliver new, modern water treatment equipment and infrastructure to some of the more remote parts of Aotearoa which are often those that are most impacted by lack of access to safe, clean water.
“This programme will help futureproof those communities and empower them through training and skills passed from the technical specialists to local people to manage the water systems themselves.”
Matt added the programme has been tried and tested with success through a year-long pilot where water treatment systems at six marae across the North Island were installed to ensure safe water is available as required.
This also helped to identify the type of technology that can be easily installed to meet New Zealand’s new drinking water rules and standards, he says.
The Rural Drinking Water Programme opens up funding for rural communities nationwide to apply for modern water treatment systems to be installed to better serve their communities with safer, cleaner drinking water
Some rural communities cannot connect to council supplies, so depend on small rural water supplies that rely on volunteers.
It focuses on those communities, kāinga and private supplies that are not for profit in high deprivation areas and/or must comply with drinking water standards by November 2022.
Graham Mitchell, CEO of Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP), says:
“We are delighted to confirm our partnership with Filtec, with CIP as the implementation agency for the Rural Drinking Water Programme.
“This is the next step in the process to get the programme underway.
“As one of New Zealand’s leading water quality and treatment experts, we are confident they have the right skills and experience to execute the programme to an excellent standard.
“CIP is proud to be a part of this Programme and the significant benefits the Programme will deliver to rural communities across Aotearoa including kāinga in rōhe which are much in need.”
How to Apply
Rural communities not currently connected to council-owned drinking water supplies can register for water treatment infrastructure to be delivered under the Rural Drinking Water programme.
