The Government reopened its drinking-water subsidy scheme in December to help small disadvantaged communities establish or improve their water schemes. To be eligible, communities must have a "deprivation index" of seven or greater.
The index is calculated using census data, along with other relevant information on the make-up of a community, including school decile numbers, information from Housing New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development.
Within Central Otago, nine schemes need to be upgraded, and, of those, only two - Roxburgh and Lake Roxburgh- meet the deprivation index criteria, Central Otago District Council water services manager Russell Bond told the Maniototo Community Board last week.
The remainder - Alexandra, Cromwell, Clyde, Ranfurly, Naseby, Omakau and Patearoa - are ruled out because their deprivation index is not high enough to qualify. That meant the cost of any upgrades would have to be borne by the local community, he said.
"It is anticipated for council's smaller communities, compliance with the Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2007 will be unaffordable without a substantial water-upgrade subsidy from the Ministry of Health," he said.
Depending on the size of the scheme, the water suppliers have to comply with the regulations by 2014, 2015 or 2016.
Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper said the communities were struggling to afford the upgrades.
"We're obliged to meet these regulations, but apart from in the case of Roxburgh and Lake Roxburgh, there's no Ministry of Health subsidies available to help meet those costs, " Mr Lepper said.
"We have another couple of years before the big hammer comes down on the back of our head," board chairman Barry Becker said.
Mr Bond said the council was required to "take all practicable steps" to comply, but it would be difficult to force a community to comply if upgrading the scheme was unaffordable. The council also had to implement a Public Health Risk Management Plan for each of the schemes, Mr Bond said.
Surveys of the district residents had shown that drinking water quality was the single biggest area of concern and, in particular, there were complaints from residents in areas such as Lake Roxburgh, Naseby and Omakau, who were frequently advised to boil water because of the turbidity.
The board agreed to consult with the public about the cost and timing of upgrading Patearoa, Ranfurly and Naseby schemes in its next long-term plan.
