Kutarere's private water supply system is being upgraded with a state-of-the-art filtration system funded by the Government.

Technicians from Pipetech Ōpōtiki were at Kutarere marae on Tuesday installing the Filtec system.

Kutarere Community Water Board caretaker Richard Kemeny said the filtration system would make the water supply compliant with the Water Services Act, which comes into effect in November 2028.

“There’s no way we could afford to do this without the support of the Government, so we are very grateful to them,” he said.

“The filter system will remove manganese, lime and iron that is in our water.”

It will also allow for the chlorination of the water when and if required.

Mr Kemeny said the water scheme was set up around 2007 and the water came from a 174-metre deep bore. Users paid $25 a month.

“The water is used by 30 properties, Kutarere Marae, the kohanga reo and Kutarere School,” he said.

“Before the scheme was set up, people had private wells and often there were things swimming around in the water, making people sick.”

Pipetech Ōpōtiki technicians Taylor Hanrahan and William MacInnes said they had installed Filtec systems at other marae in the Ōpōtiki district.

“Filtec is supporting the system for the first five years, including the system,” Mr Hanrahan said.

As part of the deal, Filtec is offering training to any rangatahi who are interested.

“We can show them how it works if they are interested,” Mr Hanrahan said.

Mr Kemeny said water treatment engineering could be a good industry for young people to get involved with, especially given the added focus on compliance these days.

“If any youth is willing to take up the offer, it can spark an interest that could become a career,” he said.

Mr Kemeny said the process of getting the filtration system installed had begun at the start of the year.