The Opihi trunk main supplies raw water to Timaru for drinking water purposes. It is an approximately 16 km long DN 525 Asbestos Cement (AC) pipeline which transports untreated (raw) water from the intake on the Opihi River near Pleasant Point to the Claremont raw water reservoirs in Timaru. It traverses open country and private property for much of its length and near the Gleniti Road / Pages Road intersection it passes through an approximately 130 m long unlined tunnel.

The goal of this Contract is to abandon the tunnel and reconfigure the pipeline to bypass the tunnel at a shallower depth with DN 560 PN 12.5 PE 100.

The new pipeline will allow Council to meet their specified levels of service, and the performance measures set out below.

• Renewed pipeline service life of 100 years.

• Protect the health and safety of the community.

• Minimise environmental impacts.

• Maintain the reliability of the water networks.

• Comply with relevant statutes and regulations.

Good reinstatement within private property is very important to the Contract.