​Boil water advisory period shortened for Māniatoto communities

Plans are underway to provide Ranfurly with a temporary protozoa barrier that will allow a much shorter boil water advisory period for the community.

Both Ranfurly and Patearoa have been on a precautionary boil water advisory since 14 July, which was to have been in place until December while their water treatment plants were upgraded.

At the meeting today (Wednesday 30 July 2025), the Central Otago District Council agreed to a proposal that involves borrowing a containerised UV unit from the Selwyn District Council in Canterbury and using it as a temporary barrier at Ranfurly. The temporary barrier could be put in place in August and be up and running by early September. This means the current boil water advisory could be lifted three to four months earlier.

With Ranfurly’s temporary barrier in place, this also meant that the new Patearoa protozoa barrier could be prioritised over Ranfurly’s, which could also result in earlier lifting of the boil water advisory.

CODC Group Manager - Three Waters Julie Muir said the water team had investigated the option of installing point-of-use treatment devices on food premises, the Maniototo Hospital, and a single publicly accessible water point. However, the price difference between this option and the temporary barrier while continuing to provide tanker waters at the key locations, was negligible.

At the meeting, it was agreed that Council would fund the approximately $50,000 operational cost of providing water tankers to Ranfurly and Patearoa while the advisory was still in place from existing operations budgets. The $150,000 cost of installing the temporary barrier would be funded as a project cost. The budget for the Ranfurly and Patearoa water treatment upgrades is $4.2 million. The estimated costs for design, project management, construction and contingency for the upgraded plants is $3.92million, leaving $280,000 of unallocated budget, which would go towards this solution.

Central Otago Mayor Tamah Alley said the temporary barrier and tanker option was preferable to people having to get their water from a single tap, which would seem 'third world' for the Māniatoto.

Council staff were given the go ahead to proceed with arranging the Selwyn container to be decommissioned, transported to Ranfurly, installed and commissioned.

The Ranfurly Water Safety Plan will be updated to reflect the changes being made to the treatment processes and re-submitted to Taumata Arowai.

The boil water advisory can be removed from Ranfurly once the plant is commissioned in September.

Staff will work with Fulton Hogan to prioritise installation of the Patearoa Treatment Upgrade before Ranfurly.

Monthly updates on progress on the treatment upgrades will be provided to the Māniatoto community.