Construction continues on the Waiari Water Supply Scheme, a major project for Tauranga City Council that will deliver increased capacity and resilience for the city's drinking water supply.

The latest phase of the project – construction of the pipeline along Number One Road in Te Puke, has been awarded to construction firm Smythe Contractors Ltd. Their winning bid for this contract incorporated the use of directional drilling, that has less impact on traffic in the area and the local community than open trench installation.

'We're at an exciting stage of the construction” said Nic Johansson, General Manager Infrastructure for Tauranga City Council. 'We are getting closer to the start of building the water treatment plant and intake. This is a foundation project for the Tauranga community and our team is working hard to continue progress while keeping the community informed and connected, as well as managing potential impacts of construction on those living, working and traveling in the area.”

Smythe will start work early next week (from 7 October) with surveying and location of existing services, also known as potholing, along the roadside berm. The next step will be to install a fibre optic cable duct from start to finish of the proposed pipeline. This will be used to provide water to the drill rigs during operation. Drilling will take place in 10 separate sections, between 10 construction sites along Number One Road and down Landscape Road.

The project team, alongside Smythe, met with local residents last week to provide more details on what works will look like for residents. We will continue to work with local residents to ensure we keep impacts as low as possible.

Other aspects of the construction are progressing, including:

• The installation of pipeline and valves continues on Welcome Bay Road and Te Puke Highway.
• We are opening up the east end of Welcome Bay Road soon. Before we do, we will need to fully close the road for a day to reseal it. This is planned for Sunday, 13 October, but it's weather dependent.
• The Poplar Lane slip lane will be open from Monday, 7 October.
• Preparation of the water treatment plant site has started with increased truck movements from time to time.

Traffic management around construction sites will continue for a while. Electronic signs and cones help slow traffic down on Te Puke Highway to keep construction staff and the public safe. To facilitate flow on Welcome Bay Road as much as possible, traffic is managed manually (by people) during the busiest times of day. We understand this can lead to frustration and are grateful and extend appreciation for the continued patience of the community while we carry out this critical work.

A blessing to start the latest works will be led by tangata whenua on Friday, 4 October at the water treatment plant site.

Those interested in receiving updates for this project can sign up to a regular e-newsletter, by emailing jennifer.pearson@tauranga.govt.nz.

More information on Waiari pipeline construction.