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Drilling begins in water hunt for northern towns

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PUBLISHED: 4 JUN 2026
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NPDC is looking underground for an additional water source to supply residents and businesses around and north of Waitara.

Drilling is underway at three sites near Lepperton in an effort to find a useable aquifer. The Council will be testing the supply from the bore holes to see if there is a good volume of water that is also of good quality.

“What we’re aiming to do is find an additional water source to strengthen our total water supply network from Omata to Urenui,” says Acting Manager Three Waters Amy Quattlebaum.

“There’s a lot of population growth around the Glen Avon and Bell Block areas, and all the areas north of the city are supplied by the eastern feeder trunk main. Having an additional supply from an aquifer would extend the time before Lake Mangamahoe and the eastern feeder reach their supply capacity, and also take pressure off the lake during a drought.”

Amy says finding an additional water source in the northern part of the district would also be important in a civil defence emergency.

“At one point the eastern feeder crosses the Waiwhakaiho River and if that link fails, such as from a lahar or flooding, then there’ll be no supply of water north of the river.

“Having a local secondary water source would keep the taps flowing in the north in an emergency – something that we identified as important after ex-Cyclone Gita cut water to 10,000 properties in 2018.”

There is one other aquifer source in the district, which supplies water to Ōakura. The New Plymouth, Ōkato and Inglewood supplies are sourced from streams and rivers.

It will take about four months to drill and analyse the aquifer’s water. If the bores prove to be useable, a budget to build the required infrastructure would be considered in a future Long-Term Plan.

At a glance:

  • The New Plymouth Water Treatment Plant draws water from Lake Mangamahoe and the Waiwhakaiho River, and supplies about 26,000 properties in Omata, New Plymouth, Bell Block, Waitara, Lepperton, Tikorangi, Onaero and Urenui.
  • Combined, the New Plymouth, Inglewood, Ōakura and Ōkato water treatment plants supply about 28 million litres of water per day.
  • NPDC maintains more than 1,000km of drinking water pipes across the district.

 

Caption: Drilling of the first bore down to an aquifer has begun near Lepperton.

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Page last updated: 09:36am Thu 04 June 2026

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