New modern water reservoirs commissioned in Te Kamo

Published on 21 May 2025

The completed timber reservoirs on Woodlea Lane will significantly increase water storage capacity for the area around Three Mile Bush Road.

Residents in parts of Te Kamo are officially connected to two brand-new water reservoirs on Woodlea Lane off Three Mile Bush Road after commissioning took place on Friday 16 May 2025.

The reservoirs are fed water from the nearby Whau Valley Dam after being treated at the Whau Valley Treatment Plant.

From there, the treated water makes its way to another reservoir on Dip Road, before a new pump station pumps it to the reservoirs via new 250mm-wide piping.

The reservoirs will significantly increase water storage capacity for the area, holding 1500m³ of water between them and replacing the previous reservoirs' 500m³ total capacity.

Project Manager Harsheel Patel says, "With enough capacity to fill 5,000 bathtubs, the tanks will ensure reliable, high-quality water supply for this water zone over the next 50 years and cater for predicted growth in the area."

The timber tanks have a PVC plastic lining to keep the water isolated from the wood surface, and metal bands around them to prevent them expanding outwards.

They can be built significantly larger than plastic tanks, have a much lower carbon footprint than concrete tanks and are also more cost-efficient.

The old reservoirs on Three Mile Bush Road are expected to be decommissioned next month after the new reservoirs have demonstrated reliable performance.

Whangarei District Council's water systems provide approximately eight billion litres of treated water annually to about 80% of the District's population.

Council staff and workers from Timber Tanks and Ventia pose for a photo during construction, which began in July 2024.