Invercargill mayor Tom Campbell has called on the city council to urgently prioritise a backup water supply, warning the community remains vulnerable with only one source of drinking water.
Speaking to a water committee this week, Campbell said public concern was growing and action was overdue. “I think as we’ve seen in the last few years, the number of serious emergencies that have been happening in New Zealand has meant that the public have become very attuned to what could happen here,” he said.
The city currently relies on the Ōreti River, which supplies up to 35 million litres of water daily during peak summer months. However, a report presented in August flagged “catastrophic” risks if a prolonged drought or contamination event were to occur.
Potential consequences included threats to public health and safety, major sanitation problems, fire response risks, and significant economic impacts. The report also noted Invercargill had capacity to store just two days’ worth of water in its network.
Council senior manager Alistair Snow told the committee that aquifer options in Awarua had been under investigation since 2018. Additional wells were now being installed to better understand the aquifer’s capacity and reach.
Preliminary findings suggest the aquifer could supply between three and five million litres per day — not enough to replace the Ōreti River but potentially sufficient to meet basic needs in an emergency. The water from the aquifer is considered high quality.
Campbell raised concerns during the meeting about whether the council was focusing on an emergency backup supply or planning for a long-term second source. He also suggested the matter be brought back to the full council.
Councillor Steve Broad added that it was his understanding the council was currently focusing on developing an emergency supply before deciding on larger investments.
Despite the concerns raised in the August report, the infrastructure and projects committee previously chose not to fast track the backup supply or bring budget timelines forward.
The council noted that the existing Ōreti River intake has been in place since the 1950s, after water quality and capacity issues emerged with older bores at Queens Park, built in the 1880s.