Lal Mulligan wants water she can drink from her tap.
At the moment she travels from her home on Keenans Rd in northeast Ashburton to the nearby town cemetery to source water from the treated town supply.
Mulligan is concerned around high nitrates and E.Coli.
She has been calling on the district council to extend drinking and wastewater pipes to the approximate 100 homes serviced by private bores in the area for years.
Mulligan accused the district council of turning their backs on the north east community, asking “Where’s our water?” when she presented a submission on the 2024-2034 Long Term Plan.
Now the district council has come knocking.
Infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said the detailed design for a drinking water network in the whole of the north east area has been done.
Consultation had begun with landowners in the Keenans-Company-Seafield Rd block on connecting to the town supply.
The district council has in the past consulted on a reticulated scheme in the area, but there was insufficient support to continue.
McCann said extensions would be carried out in increments, and only if there was landowner support.
A letter to residents showed pipes to the property boundary would cost an estimated $12,518.
If the extension goes ahead and a property owner doesn’t wish to connect, those properties may still incur a water supply charge through their rates (set at $409 in 2025/2026).
After paying the $12,518 to connect, and the additional cost of connecting it from the boundary, the properties would receive the targeted water rate for a connected property ($817 in 2025/2026).
They are sums Mulligan is willing to pay, and she hopes the proposed extension gets enough support to convince the district council to proceed.
Her only criticism was the letter failed to explain the reason for the extension, which was to “give residents safe potable water”.
“The water quality is so bad that we need to connect. It’s been contaminated from a long way back.”
Her water was tested monthly, paid for by AMP, and the results were ‘‘appalling”, she said.
Nitrate levels fluctuated from around 8 to 10.8mg/L and have been as high as 15mg/L – the maximum acceptable value for nitrate in drinking water is 11.3mg/L. E. Coli was also a constant presence.
“Five years ago, I put in a deeper bore thinking my water would improve – nope. I don’t drink it, ever.”
Up the road from Mulligan is probably one of the biggest landholders in the area – Celtic Rugby Club.
President Pete Gowans said the club had received the district council letter offering the opportunity to connect to the town supply. The club had a filtration system from its private bore supply, while most visiting teams brought their own filled water bottles.
But if the club had to stump up the cash to connect to the town supply it would be worth it, he said.
“It will be to the benefit of everyone out there.’’
