With more than half of the new Hastings to Havelock North water main already in the ground, work crews have started on the Havelock North section.

Work started in Napier Rd this week. Weather permitting, the 600m of pipe should be laid in about 13 weeks. From then, contractors will put in new lights and trees which will take up to another four weeks to complete.

The pipe is being laid hard up against the kerb of the centre island, as it is the only available space for the pipe given the number of services already under the road. It also means traffic lanes in both directions can be kept open. There is traffic management in place, with a lowered speed limit of 30km for the safety of the work teams and road users.

The Napier Rd stage comes in the wake of excellent progress across the full length of the project, which runs from Sylvan Rd in Hastings to Karenema Dr in Havelock North.

The 2.67km of pipe laid so far equates to just over half of the 4.8km route.
At the same time a sewer main is being installed at the Hastings end of the project, while the road is open. Just over 453 metres of that 537m pipe has been laid.

“That we are more than half way through the laying of the pipe is impressive, especially given the weather we have had lately,” said Hastings District councillor and works and services committee chairman Kevin Watkins.

“The project remains on schedule to be completed by the end of the year, which we are all looking forward to. In the meantime, we do thank you for your patience as we realise that this project is having major effects on roads across the district.”

The water main sits within Council’s comprehensive water strategy, designed to improve the safety, resilience and capacity of Hastings’ drinking water supplies. The water main is one of a number of key projects within that strategy that are planned over the next few years. Others include the raising of bore heads to above ground (completed), the fitting of UV disinfection treatment to all water supplies, additional online monitoring devices, investigating a new water source in the Pakowhai/Tomoana area,

and further enhancements to all the smaller water supplies.
Completing the Hastings to Havelock North water main is the first of two key stages to enable Council to discontinue supplying water from the Brookvale bore field, which was implicated in the 2016 water contamination. The second stage will be the construction of a booster pump station, which Council plans to have operational by November 2019.
ENDS

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