TasWater says the completion of a new town network brings its Pioneer pipeline a step closer. 

The delivery of a treated drinking water supply pipeline to the people of Pioneer has reached a key milestone with the completion of works on the town’s reticulation network, the authority announced this week. 

It says the existing TasWater-owned network in the north-east town has been completely replaced and is ready for testing and commissioning.

The installation of the mains system, to feed the town network, is continuing and will be connected in the coming months. 

Once complete, the project is intended to deliver safe and reliable drinking water to Pioneer’s residents via the continuation of the Ringarooma Valley water scheme.

The town's water supply was deemed unfit to drink in 2012, after researchers from Macquarie University in Sydney found that ageing infrastructure was contaminating the water supply.

This left some residents reliant on water deliveries or bottled supplies. TasWater installed roof-fed rainwater drinking tanks at some properties within the town., but it later emerged that some of the properties' roofs had too much lead in the paint, meaning theit drinking water may have been unsafe.  

After a decade of supply uncertainty for residents, TasWater Acting General Manager Project Delivery Tim Cubit says the improvement project is actually ahead of schedule.

“We made a promise to the people of Pioneer that we would deliver safe, reliable drinking water by May 2023 and we can proudly say we are well on track to achieve this, weeks ahead of schedule,” Mr Cubit says.

“Meter installation is underway, and in the coming weeks our team will undertake commissioning of the network and water quality testing.

“We are now very close to turning on the tap to Pioneer,” he said.