Water Supplies

Marlborough District Council operates seven water supply systems serving Blenheim, Picton, Havelock, Renwick, Riverlands, Wairau Valley and the Awatere district, including Seddon. These systems comprise 300 km of mains pipeline, two dams, 13 reservoirs, 19 pump stations, three treatment plants and approximately 12,000 water connections.

Council's Assets and Services Department supervises the development and operation of all water supply systems, and has operational staff to maintain the Blenheim, Havelock, Wairau Valley, Riverlands and Renwick systems. Local firms are contracted to maintain some systems because, as they are locally situated, they are able to respond to problems more quickly and economically. The design and construction of major water supply developments is let out to competitive tender.

Marlborough District Council maintains its water supply system to the point of supply.

The point of supply is:

• The last fitting on the shut off valve (toby) in road reserve before the boundary
• The boundary if there is no valve in the road reserve

The pipe and all fittings from the point of supply to the house is the property owner's responsibility.

Find my water toby

Need to find your water toby?

Just enter your address into the find my water toby Smart Map. When the map zooms in to your property, you'll see a blue line intersecting with your property boundary. Select the blue line to see details such as the distance from boundary.

Go to find my water toby Smart Map

Reporting problems

To report water supply problems or concerns, please phone: 03 520 7400 (24-hour service).

Minor problems can be reported by email: mdc@marlborough.govt.nz or sending a fax message: 520 7496

Fees and forms

Connection and disconnection fees

Connection or disconnection application forms

Plumbosolvency

Many water sources used for public water supplies in New Zealand are plumbosolvent. This means that the water is slightly acidic and can dissolve metals such as lead and copper out of brass fittings, if the tap has not been used for a period of time.

Council's water supplies are plumbosolvent in Blenheim, Picton, Renwick, Havelock and Wairau Valley.

Ministry of Health - Public Notice

Some plumbing fittings have the potential to allow minute traces of metals to accumulate in water standing in the fittings for several hours.

Although the health risk is small, the Ministry of Health recommends that you flush a mug full of water from your drinking water tap each morning before use to remove any metals that may have dissolved from the plumbing fittings.

We recommend this simple precaution for all households, including those on public and private water supplies.