Napier water shortage: Cruise ships taking fresh water not the cause

The Sun Princess was one of two cruise ships that drew fresh water on Sunday at Napier Port. Photo / File

Cruise ships Noordam and Sun Princess were in Napier Port and tanked up with fresh water on Sunday, but port bosses say that did not cause Monday's shortage.

Napier Port chief executive Garth Cowie said the two ships bought about 450 cubic metres from the town supply - not enough to have had any effect on the shortage.

He said the ship, which together carry about 3900 passengers and 1700 crew, injected more than $770,000 into the local economy.

"Both ships took water – going by the numbers on the Napier City Council website, the total volume would have been around 1.6 per cent of the average daily water consumption or 0.9 per cent of the peak day average water consumption (which usually peaks at 50,000 cubic metres).

"This water comes from the town system and the cruise lines are charged for it."

Cowie confirmed the port was on the town reticulation and water had continued to run clear.

"We have not experienced any major issues, but did reduce the usage of our water cart on port after becoming aware of the water shortage yesterday afternoon."

Meanwhile, pool sales spiked at the Warehouse at the weekend.

"We noticed a spike in sales across some of our outdoor accessories over the weekend as the warmer weather hit, with fans and paddling pools proving to be particularly popular," The Warehouse regional manager John Basson said.

"If this level of demand continues, we suggest customers get in quick to avoid missing out."