04-10-2022
Pine Harbour Water News
Welcome all
In this newsletter we’ll update you on what has been happening around our water supply network
On a national note, 2022 sees the establishment of Taumata Arowai as the new regulatory authority for drinking water across New Zealand. This was previously the job of the various district health boards.
This change has meant some additional compliance and monitoring measures, most notably is the frequency of testing has been increased. As part of the measures you may notice, we have now installed a remote sampling station on the corner of Ninth View and Hapukupuku to continuously monitor Chlorine and pH levels.
Our source water and bore head assembly has been recently reassessed and is now classified as Class 1, this essentially means contamination free water is drawn from an aquifer secure from the influence of surface conditions (interesting note is the spring water has an average age of 176 years). Although this does reduce the need, we still treat the water to maintain high standards.
For Pine Harbour Water customers, there will be no noticeable change to the water delivered to your premises. Fortunately, our water has been and continues to be good quality and safe.
In other news, a new water tanker filling station at Formosa maintenance yard has been in operation this year. This was established to give better access to trucks and also be less disruptive to residents around the marina. With two working filling points and a third ready to be installed, this should see fast filling and turn around rates for the local carriers.
Our water treatment plant has also been growing as more connections come online. As well as more demand for water tank refills we need to be prepared for the additional volume. A new treatment room is near completion and a third 267,000lt storage tank is also planned. This will see us in a good position to meet the demand of a growing community.
We are all focused on how precious our water is., whether it is people with their own tanks or connected to piped water. We understand we should all be respectful of how water is used.
The team at Pine Harbour Water
May 2021
Hi all,
We are providing some information on our water quality for those interested.
Water used to supply the Pine Harbour/Beachlands reticulated area (including tankers) originates from beneath Tui Brae via a bore accessing a170 meter deep continuously flowing aquifer, this has been in operation since the mid 1980’s. Due to the geography of the location and the depth, our water is unique to the local area in that it is considered a ‘secure supply’ meaning there is no influence from surface features or activities e.g. local creeks, stormwater runoff, farming etc.
Aged at an average of 176 years old and being secure gives us access to very pure and high quality spring water.
Recent awareness has been raised around high levels of Lead, Nitrates, and e coli in water supplies at various locations in New Zealand. Fortunately due to our secure supply, no old network hardware, and consistent monitoring it is highly unlikely any of these would be present in Pine Harbour Water. None the less, we still test for levels of Nitrates and Lead. A range of other determinants including E coli, Total Coliforms, pH and Free available Chlorine are tested at regular monthly intervals.
April 2021 testing results and the maximum acceptable values (MAV) according to “Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand”
Lead mg/L <0.00028 (MAV 0.01)
Nitrate mg/L <0.002 (MAV 50)
We have included the full results for your reference.
For peace of mind as Pine Harbour Water falls within the scope of a Municipal Water Supply the pH, Free available Chlorine and turbidity(clarity) levels as well as other determinants are continuously monitored and reported.
Silica also features in the water. Silica is a mineral present in greywacke rock and considered advantageous for drinking water (many bottled pure spring water brands have it). While good for you it may leave a residue noticeable on glass.
Finally, we know having a reliable healthy water source is important for everyone. Recent water plant upgrades include new reservoirs, treatment equipment and pumps. With room for further expansion as required we are in a good position looking forward to service the Beachlands area via network connections and to the wider district via tanker delivery.
Cheers and good health
The Pine Harbour Water team.
Marcus Male
marcus@pineharbourwater.co.nz
November 2020
You may have recently seen some correspondence from Auckland Council regarding water restrictions that have come into force. Please note these restrictions do not apply to Pine Harbour Water