Water line repaired but Waipawa and Otane still urged to conserve water

Water line repaired but Waipawa and Otane still urged to conserve water

Update 5:45pm Friday 10 January

Waipawa and Otane residents can use their water indoors again.

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council contractors have repaired the damage to the water line that supplies Otane and Waipawa caused by a contractor working on private property at 9.30am.

Mayor Alex Walker said while the line was repaired, it was still vulnerable to failure and asked communities to continue to conserve water over the next couple of days.

“Thanks to everyone for your conservation efforts.

“Everyone can now use water indoors, but level 4 water restrictions are still in place in Waipawa and Otane, which means there’s a total ban on outdoor water use.

“While the towns are out of immediate danger of running out of water, there’s still a chance the line that feeds the Waipawa reservoir could fail again.”

Mayor Walker said there were contingency plans in place in case the water line had any more failures.

“We’ve got an alternative water line ready to go, and we’ll monitor the line in the coming days.

“We’ve also got contractors on stand-by.”

Mayor Walker said the repair team’s efforts today were focussed on a two-metre section of pipe, but a 125-metre section of pipeline was potentially damaged.

She said the towns’ water-saving efforts were a great example of community spirit.

“We’ve been delighted to see everyone pull together to get this sorted, not least of all our community members who have put in a stellar effort to save water, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Red Cross volunteers,” she said.

“Our contracting partners have worked tirelessly since 9.30 this morning to get the pipe up and running, and our staff members have pulled together to manage the situation as quickly and effectively as possible.

“Thank you to everyone involved.”

MEDIA CONTACT

Rachel Schicker 027 252 4178

17 January 2022

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