A proposed 2 million-litre water reservoir may be built on an archaeological site used for gold sluicing, on the Sugarloaf formation near Cromwell, to service the growing Pisa Moorings community.
The Central Otago District Council has applied to itself for resource consent for the reservoir, the proposal for which is due to be publicly notified next week.
A copy of the notification supplied to the Otago Daily Times shows the reservoir is needed to eventually connect the Pisa subdivisions to the Cromwell town water supply, and secure a water supply which is up to national standards.
"There is nowhere else the reservoir can be located anywhere in the vicinity of Pisa Moorings," it says.
At present, water is supplied to Pisa households from three different schemes, which lack the capacity for predicted growth and do not provide appropriate water pressure.
Quality is not guaranteed and the supplies are deemed insecure.
Different ownership and management of private water schemes is also causing problems with the proposed New Zealand Drinking Water Standards.
The proposed water reservoir site is on private land, on a sloping section of the Sugarloaf terrace, across State Highway 6 from the Pisa area.
Pisa Cove Ltd owns the property and has consent to subdivide it into eight allotments, which include a reservoir site vested in the council.
Initially, a reservoir site which avoided historic gold sluicing was chosen, although it was more visually prominent and the new site was preferred.
Mitigation is proposed to protect the archaeological site and diminish the reservoir's visual impact.
The council does not regard the proposed site as an area of outstanding landscape value - unlike most of the Sugarloaf.
If built, the proposed water tank would be almost 25m in diameter, 5m high, and painted to blend in with the surrounding environment.
Once constructed, the tank will be partially buried by earth which is to be back-filled on the slope in which it is set.
