Residents and businesses in western Te Awamutu and Pirongia now have a more reliable water supply following the completion of the Racecourse Rd watermain replacement project.
14 August 20262 min read
Residents and businesses in western Te Awamutu and Pirongia now have a more reliable water supply following the completion of the Racecourse Rd watermain replacement project.
Initiated by Waipā District Council, the upgrade is one of 24 active infrastructure projects that transferred to Waikato Waters when the organisation began operations on 1 July.
Waikato Waters contract engineer James McKinnon says the work became urgent after February’s storm caused major damage to the Te Tahi Water Treatment Plant.
“This project had been in the pipeline but was accelerated by the storm event. We had to reconfigure the network to supply the Pirongia community and western Te Awamutu with water from the Waikato River treated at our Parallel Rd Water Treatment Plant.
“This meant we urgently needed a bigger pipe along Racecourse Rd to carry the extra water.”
Work began in early June to install the new 300mm-diameter polyethylene pipe along an 860-metre section of Racecourse Rd, replacing an old 200mm cement pipe that was built in 1963.
Most of the pipe was installed by directional drilling to minimise disruption for residents and road users.
The final connection to the water network was completed in early August. While most reinstatement has been completed, final work to restore the grass berms will be carried out as weather permits.
The new pipe carries water treated at the Parallel Rd Water Treatment Plant to customers in western Te Awamutu and supplies the Taylors Hill Reservoir. From there, water is fed to Pirongia, building resilience in the network.
McKinnon says having the new pipe in service is a significant milestone.
“It means our customers in Te Awamutu and Pirongia will enjoy a more reliable water supply and it will help us meet the extra demand in the summer months.
“We know some of our work has been frustrating at times, particularly with the road closures needed to complete the final stage. We’d like to thank the community for their patience while we delivered this important project.”
