The Rural Drinking Water Programme is focused on supporting not for profit rural drinking water suppliers in areas of high vulnerability, as well as marae, papakāinga and kōhanga reo that aren’t currently connected to town supplies.
People that supply drinking water to a standalone or single domestic dwelling are not eligible. You may find other funding sources at workandincome.govt.nz
Eligible Private Drinking Water Suppliers are:
- not for profit
- in areas of high vulnerability (areas of high vulnerability are those rural areas that have a decile 7-10 deprivation score according to the Department of Public Health at Otago University’s 2018 Deprivation Index)
- on the Taumata Arowai public register of drinking water suppliers.
Eligible Marae, papakāinga and kōhanga reo are:
- currently on the Taumata Arowai public register of drinking water suppliers
- in areas of high vulnerability.
What’s included and ongoing responsibilities
The Government through Crown Infrastructure Partners will install new drinking water treatment equipment that meets proposed new drinking water rules from Taumata Arowai and helps give effect to Te Mana o te Wai.
Government will maintain the equipment for five years and provide training to help keep the equipment running smoothly.
Once the equipment is installed you will own the drinking water treatment equipment.
This means that you will need to cover the costs for power used by things like pumps and ultraviolet disinfection, as well as provide access to the internet for remote monitoring of the equipment (where required).
You will need to provide basic maintenance, like keeping the access route and area around the equipment clear of vegetation and pay any on-going maintenance costs after five years.
How to get started
Talk to your hapū and whānau about what Te Mana o te Wai means in your rohe/area and how to give effect to it through better drinking water treatment.
Consider any important information that might affect how much water you use, like the maximum number of people that attend events and the maximum number of people that could stay overnight.
How the process works
Accessing the Rural Drinking Water Programme involves five key steps:
- Register
- We will make contact with you to let you know if you are eligible for the programme
- We, or our representative, will visit your site to find out about your community’s needs, scope the site and suggest a solution based on the discussion
- We will work together to confirm a detailed design for the solution for your site
- We will install all equipment, and provide training and support to help keep it running smoothly.
For more information
If you would like more information you can:
- Email your questions directly to [email protected]