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Thursday 24 April 2008

Official opening for new $4.4m Milton Water Treatment Plant

The Clutha District Council is pleased to announce it will officially open the new $4.4 million Milton Water Treatment Plant on Saturday 10 May.

To mark this special occasion, the plant, located at the intersection of North Branch Road and Water Tower Road, just north of Milton, will be officially opened by Mayor Juno Hayes at 1pm and it will be open to the public from 12.30pm to 4pm.

Council’s Manager District Assets, Jules Witt, said this would be a good opportunity for members of the public to view the “membrane” technology, which uses state-of-the-art tube filters to provide a physical barrier to solids and pathogens. This is the first plant of its type in the Clutha District and will meet the new New Zealand Drinking Water Standards that were introduced in 2005.

Mr Witt said the opportunity to replace the old plant arose from the need to service the Otago Corrections Facility near Milton.

“The old plant was essentially at the end of its useful life and without major upgrades it did not have the ability to produce the quantity and quality of water required going forward,” he said. “The new plant has double the capacity of the old plant, but is projected to run at a similar operating cost. Provisions have also been made for even more capacity should it be required in future.”

Council awarded Fulton Hogan Civil South Ltd a $3.7 million contract for construction of the new Water Treatment Plant in December 2006. However, under an agreement with the Department of Corrections, Milton ratepayers pay 25% of the total project cost estimated at $4.4 million.

All Milton residents, as well as the wider community, are invited to attend the official opening.