Water treatment technology a match for river conditions
Hurunui District Council media release: 28th April 2025
Hurunui District’s cutting-edge automated water treatment plant on the Hurunui River is up and running, ready to tackle the river’s most challenging conditions with ease.
The new plant, located on the Hurunui River at SH1 near Greta Valley, has paved the way for the permanent boil water notice to be lifted this week for users of the scheme.
Hurunui Council’s Chief Operations Officer Dan Harris says the plant is designed to automatically change modes to cope with a wide range of river conditions. It is the first automatic plant of this type in the district.
“"The technology can detect changes in water quality, from clear to murky, and will adjust treatment methods automatically, helping the plant to keep running smoothly no matter the conditions. In the past, it would either shutdown on the murkiest of days or require manual intervention to increase the disinfection processes,” Harris said.
Hurunui River is known for its variability, with water quality fluctuating with weather events, Harris says.
“When it rains, the river gets dirty. Storms place a burden on treatment plants, which have to work harder to remove excess particles. The new plant has the ability to cope with changeable conditions, with the capacity to treat 3.1 million litres of water per day.”
The changeover to the new Hurunui No. 1 Water Treatment Plant was completed to meet new drinking water standards. The works included the construction of the new treatment building, a river return consent, UV treatment and a 1 million litre reservoir.
At the heart of the new plant is the ability to switch from a membrane system for particle extraction when the water from the river is dirty, to a simple cartridge filter for when water quality at source is good.
“It’s totally adaptable,” Harris says.
With the upgrade now in place, households connected to the supply have welcomed this week’s lifting of the permanent boil water notice.
“We really want to thank property owners for accommodating these works,” Harris says.
The works were budgeted for in the Long Term Plan.