Dunedin's water distribution network
Distribution, from the water treatment plant to you, the customer, is achieved using a complicated network of pipes, treated water reservoirs and valves.
Primary Distribution System
The primary distribution system conveys water from storage at the treatment plant to service reservoirs in outlying areas. There are 46 service reservoirs in the metropolitan Dunedin area, providing 151.8ML of water storage. There are also four service reservoirs at Southern and Mt Grand treatment plants that provide 80,000m³ of treated water storage. (ML = megalitres = 1000m³)
The primary distribution network has 174km of pipe that varies in size from 25mm to 750mm in diameter. The majority of the pipelines are steel and asbestos cement pipes.
Reticulation
The reticulation system has 726km of pipeline made of a variety of materials, ranging in size from 25mm to 600mm diameter. Pipe materials have varied with technological advances and requirements.
Most of the reticulation system is cast iron, which was used extensively up to the 1960s for pipe diameters greater than 50mm. Asbestos cement became popular from the 1960s to the 1980s and now makes up a large proportion of the reticulation. Today, concrete lined ductile iron and polyethylene and uPVC are used.
In urban areas, water is reticulated to the property boundary of houses and businesses. The actual connection for supplying water to a property is located at the roadside boundary of the property. It is represented by a water toby (manifold unit), which your plumber connects to your property. Tobies are usually in the form of small round holes with cast iron or plastic lids. They can be found by standing by your outside tap and looking toward the street. It is a good idea to operate the toby a couple of times a year to keep it in good working order.
Last reviewed: 12 Jul 2008 11:44am
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