Water restrictions could be imposed in Christchurch to help meet the May deadline for removing chlorine from the city’s water supply.

Christchurch City Council Water Supply Improvement Programme Manager Helen Beaumont has prepared a report for Thursday’s Council meeting which recommends introducing level three water restrictions.

Level three water restrictions permit people to water their gardens on alternate days only, using hand-held hoses. Unattended hoses, sprinklers or garden irrigation systems cannot be used when level three restrictions are in place.

In her report, Ms Beaumont says imposing water restrictions now will help reduce demand for water and potentially allow for a larger number of wells to be made secure by May.

“If we can significantly reduce the demand for water we would be able to carry out improvement works on a larger number of wells over the next few weeks,’’ Ms Beaumont says.

To date 39 of Christchurch’s 140 wells have been upgraded and signed off as secure.

Based on the current work programme 90 per cent of the city’s water supply will be chlorine-free by the end of May. One hundred per cent of the network will be chlorine free by October.

Key things you need to know
A running tap.The Council is aiming to have a chlorine-free water supply by the end of May.
Work to accelerate the upgrade of the well heads across Christchurch began in February 2018.
To date 39 out of 140 wells have been upgraded and signed off as secure.
Chlorine treatments stops at a pump station when wells that feed into the pump station have been signed off as secure.
To date nine pump stations are fed by secure wells and do not require chlorine treatment.
Four other pump stations are able to operate without chlorine as times of low demand.
The indicative timetable for the upgrade of the remaining well heads would see approximately 90 per cent of the city’s water delivered without chlorine disinfection by the end of May.
An ultraviolet disinfection system is going to be installed at one of the city’s biggest pump stations, but work on it is unlikely to be finished until the end of June. At that point 95 per cent of the city’s water supply should be chlorine-free.
On the current timetable it will be October before 100 per cent of the city is chlorine-free.
The water supply network is being managed to maximise the delivery from pump stations without chlorine.
The initial chlorine dose has been reduced at 21 pump stations.
Changes are being made to the water supply network this month to reduce the dose at another four pump stations.

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