Water Supply
Water is essential to life on Earth. It seems plentiful, covering 71% of our 'blue' planet's surface. However, less than 3.5% of this is fresh, salt-free water and much of that is frozen in glaciers and ice caps. This leaves only 1% as potential drinking water in streams, lakes and underground reserves. Much of this 'fresh' water is inaccessible or has become too polluted for use without treatment.
Nature steadily renews the planet's small supply of fresh water through rainfall, particularly on mountains that catch the prevailing ocean winds. Water is used in part to supply human needs, with treated discharges going back to rivers, estuaries and the sea.
What we do
We manage collection, supply, treatment and distribution of water to domestic and commercial residents in Dunedin. This includes 21,000 hectares of water catchment, 16 treatment stations, 35 pumping stations and 57 reservoirs (raw and treated water). The total water pipe network has a length of 1,074km that conveys water from the source to your boundary.
One of our goals is to ensure the efficient and continuous provision of safe high quality drinking water that meets your requirements. To do this, we have several raw water storage reservoirs so there will always be a supply of water even if it has not been raining for some time. The main aspects of the supply system are:
- Raw water: (not treated) Surface water and ground water that is collected from the catchments.
- Supply: The main supply pipelines that convey raw water from the catchment to the raw water reservoirs or directly to the treatment plants.
- Distribution: The main pipelines between the treatment plants and the treated water service reservoirs. Some mains provide both primary distribution and reticulation functions.
- Reticulation: The pipelines that distribute water from the service reservoirs to the customers' boundary.
Last reviewed: 18 Sep 2008 12:42pm
