Dam connections installed at Kaikohe WTP

07 October 2025

An upgrade to Kaikohe’s water treatment plant is underway with the installation of piping to create a new inlet and outlet from the Taraire Hills Dam, as well as bulk earthworks to form the platform for the upgraded water treatment plant. The upgrade will include new water treatment infrastructure, electrical upgrades, and a new 1.5 million-litre treated water reservoir.

Work at the Taraire Hills Water Treatment Plant started at the end of July and will take a year to complete. No disruption is expected to the current supply to Kaikohe during the upgrade.

The treatment plant upgrade will strengthen the town’s connection to the Matawii Dam, improve the reliability of the water supply, support firefighting capacity, and enhance Kaikohe’s water resilience.

Upgrades of Kaikohe’s reticulation system (underground pipes for water and wastewater connections) began in early August and is also making good progress. You can read about that here.

The water treatment plant work is separate from upgrades to the town’s water and wastewater network, however both workstreams are supported by multimillion-dollar investments from the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund.

The government’s Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF) is managed by National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFF) and supports the delivery of critical infrastructure needed to enable new housing in high-growth areas. The government’s investment in Kaikohe and potentially a similar project in Kawakawa is possible through a co-funding partnership with Far North District Council.

Go to the Kaikohe water and wastewater upgrades webpage to find out more.

Main image - Taraire Hills Dam with new outlet pipeline under construction.

Below - Installing upgraded dam pipelines with future capacity.