By Amy Williams, of RNZ
After 26 years running a hair salon on Gisborne’s main street, Kim Travers did not expect to be filling buckets to rinse clients’ hair.
The city’s water restrictions mean hairdressers cannot use the town supply.
“We were told that we’re not allowed to use [water] for rinsing colours ... I’d already stored a lot of water in 20-litre buckets, so we’re using that and heating it on a gas hob and then using that to rinse our clients’ hair,” Travers said.
First, Covid-19 closed his hair salon The Little Hair Shop; now, a water crisis threatens to.
“As hairdressers, we’ve had a really financially hard time over the last few years and we can’t survive on just cuts, because of the cost of running a salon with the rent, so we need to do colours to survive and we’ve got wages to pay.”
Travers is among business owners in the cyclone-hit city who are desperate to keep their doors open during the water crisis.
Those with home tanks are carting in thousands of litres so they can keep working.
There is no sign of a better fix while broken pipes are repaired.
Tai Rāwhiti Civil Defence said extreme rationing would be in force for at least another week.
The pipe network to and from the Waingake plant is broken in multiple places, and Gisborne District Council warned the smaller Waipaoa plant would struggle to keep up with demand, and would be prone to failure because of silt in the water.
Many restaurants only reopened on Tuesday, when the council eased restrictions slightly for hospitality. They can open, but dishes have to be washed by hand and tap water is off the menu.
Grant Fussell owns and manages the restaurant Wharf, and for the first time drove a trailer to work with a 1000-litre drum of his home tank water.
“What we’re doing is filtering the water, bringing it inside putting it in our drinking container on our bar, also taking containers into the kitchen which we’re using for doing the dishes, filling the sink, then we have other containers as well which we’re using for boiling water and cooking with,” Fussell said.
“A bit labour intensive, but you do what you can.”
Trust Tai Rāwhiti opened a drop-in business hub at the wharf a week ago, to support businesses and the near 300 who have popped in for help range from large horticulture growers to sole traders.
Co-ordinator Rena Kohere said it had been tough going.
“When you can’t pay wages, when you don’t know if your staff are safe, and you’re carrying that load on behalf of your business and the people you’re responsible for, it has an impact on mental health and wellbeing and people are struggling. I have had multiple business owners crying on my shoulder.”
Kohere said some had been ready to call it quits but she was urging business owners not to make any big decisions while they were in crisis mode.
“It’s really hard, there’s a lot of uncertainty, the lack of comms really impacted people. We were back to leaving notes on people’s front doorsteps because we couldn’t call, we couldn’t text.”
Back in town, Amy Moore runs a homeware shop and cafe that has become a place where locals affected by the cyclone pop in for a coffee and chat.
Her store was closed for a week, but she is relieved to be up and running again.
“The internet has come back on. It’s patchy so you just hope that there’s internet when you need to use Eftpos but if not, it’s Gizzy you know, people will come back and write down their name.”
Short-staffed, Moore had called in friends to help in the kitchen.
“We’re just doing things like coffees in takeaway cups and using things that don’t need to be washed, so we don’t have to use the dishwasher and encouraging people to bring their own cups.”
For those like Grant Fussell, bringing in water from their home tanks, any rain will be welcome.
“I don’t mind the drive in and out, it gets me out and about, but obviously we’re on limited supply where we are as well.
More rain forecast gives us another 1000 litres each day, fingers crossed.” - RNZ
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