Methven community members who came along to a public meeting about the future of the Pudding Hill stockwater intake are being encouraged to take part in Council’s online survey about the intake.

The survey is part of Council’s work programme to exit the stockwater delivery service by 2027.

Chair of the Stockwater Transition Working Group Cr Richard Wilson said about 60 people attended the Methven meeting this week, where they could ask questions about the stockwater exit transition plan.

“Council is considering each stockwater intake separately and this meeting was for the wider community to tell us their thoughts on the Pudding Hill intake.

“There were a lot of people from Methven who were interested in keeping an amenity flow in Mt Harding Creek, which is partially fed by the Pudding Hill intake. I encourage them all to have their say via the public survey so we can capture their feedback.”

The Pudding Hill intake wider community survey is available here, until 4 March.

Property owners who pay for stockwater from the intake have already been surveyed as part of the process, and the next step involves ecological, cultural and archaeological assessments.

Cr Wilson said these assessments were being undertaken by experts and would be taken into account when deciding the future of the intake.

“Council staff will also be investigating the role of stormwater management in relation to the stockwater network in and around Methven and that report will also feed into the final decision.”

There are 17 intakes in total to be considered and the next one on the list is Methven Auxiliary. Affected property owners connected to this intake have until 3 March to complete their survey and then the wider community will be invited to have their say mid-March.

Cr Wilson said the work programme was the same for each intake.

“First we’ll survey affected property owners who pay for the stockwater from that intake, then we’ll survey the wider community, then we’ll get the assessments.

“It’s important that people who want to be part of the process respond when it is their turn, and they can keep up to date by signing up for email updates.”

“We want to make sure everyone who still needs stockwater has advice about an alternative option.”

You can find the Pudding Hill survey at itsourplace.nz/stockwater-exit/puddinghill

Find out more about the Stockwater Exit Transition Plan.

Sign up for email updates about how the transition plan is progressing.