Muriwai's future water supply

Project overview

We supply water to approximately 160 properties in Muriwai, about one third of the local community. The water is sourced from several natural springs (aquifer) and is treated at the treatment plant on Motutara Road then stored in a reservoir. From the reservoir the water flows via gravity to connected properties.

The severe weather events in 2023 caused significant damage to Muriwai's water infrastructure. Although the system is back in service after a period of tankering, there are now several long-term issues which we need to plan how to best address.

These issues include:

• Ground movements have affected the natural springs that supply water reducing the amount of available water

• The land where the springs, Water Treatment Plant and reservoir are located is in a landslide debris zone, making it vulnerable to future landslides

We have three key problems to resolve based on these issues:

• Ensuring sufficient water supply during peak demand

• Ensuring a resilient supply of water in case of future weather events or landslips

• Ensuring the site is safe, long-term

While we have identified some ways we could solve some or all of these problems, it is important that we find out more about how the local community uses water and their views on how we could best ensure a safe, resilient and sustainable water supply to Muriwai.

We have started engaging with the local community to find out more and to share more details about this project. We have received some good feedback so far and this is what we have heard:

• 90% of respondents are owner/occupiers of their property

• Under 5% of respondents have a water tank to supplement their mains water supply

• Over 50% of respondents would be open to having a water tank which supplements their mains water supply, assuming Watercare provided and installed it

• Approximately 40% of respondents would be interested in having an in-home assessment of water usage and water saving devices

• Overwhelmingly the feedback was the community wanted Watercare to continue supplying water to current customers in Muriwai

Next steps – as at May 2025:

We are continuing with desktop research and analysing data already available. Once complete we will be better informed for next steps including physical investigations.

Conversations with the park rangers and Auckland Council on potential options for alternative or supplementary supplies for public facilities including the campgrounds are underway.

We are still looking at other locations where there is access to the aquifer. If you have local knowledge to share of where you may have observed water from the aquifer making its way out naturally, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]

Community event

Click here to read our community presentation from Wednesday 26 February, or watch the video below to hear from our head of water planning Tim Scheirlinck.