The settlement on the north side of the Waitaki River has been plagued by issues since late 2022, with high nitrate levels in the Lower Waihao rural scheme supplying the settlement.
In 2023, the council explored commissioning a denitrification plant, but that was scrapped last December in favour of a new water intake from the Waitaki River.
Waimate District Council asset group manager Dan Mitchell said it had installed online monitoring at the new intake point, near Bells Pond, to provide "baseline information for treatment design".
"It’s important to understand water quality during and after rain events. Flow testing has occurred and there appears to be adequate supply.
"A preliminary intake design is being worked on alongside collection of data to inform an assessment of environmental effects."
He said the next step in the process was to apply for consent from Environment Canterbury (ECan).
Mr Mitchell fronted a public meeting on the issue at Glenavy Hall in December alongside Waimate District Mayor Craig Rowley, chief executive Stuart Duncan and Lower Waihao ward councillor Lisa Small.
At that stage they said a second meeting would be held in February, with ECan representatives to answer more questions which might come from the public.
Mr Mitchell said the second meeting had not yet happened and the council could not say when it might be called.
"We are progressing with the new source but still have work to complete. This is around securing landowner approvals, consents and engineering design.
"Once we have more confidence, we’ll call the meeting. It’s a complex process with many interactions."
Earlier this month, ECan acting head of compliance Jenn Rochford told the Lower Waitaki water zone committee the regional council had found no single source driving the elevated nitrate levels in the Lower Waihao water scheme.
In a summary of the presentation, ECan said urine patches from animals "are thought to contribute to nitrate leaking into groundwater, while rainfall can influence spikes in nitrate concentration".
It also said basic improvements could be made through regular checks from the regional council.
Good management of silage and effluent ponds by landowners was also a factor, ECan said.
As of noon on Monday the Waimate council’s online analyser in the water scheme was reading 29mg of nitrate per litre of water.
The previous grab sample, taken last week, measured 30mg/litre.
