Pahīatua water restrictions lifted

The outdoor water ban in Pahiatua has been lifted but TDC is still asking the community to be mindful of their water use.

While the total outdoor ban in Pahiatua has been lifted, Tararua District Council is still asking residents to be mindful of their water use.

The ban came into effect more than two weeks ago when it was found there was an issue with the water treatment plant not being able to treat water to full capacity and council teams were on site to investigate the issue.

A council spokesperson said last week the community and council had successfully worked together to refill the town’s water reservoir to 50 per cent capacity, allowing them to lift the ban.

Further improvements were to be made to the town’s water supply including additional cleaning of the membrane/filters, and telemetry adjustments to improve measuring data on water flows.

The council would also follow up with a review of contingency plans for the water treatment plant, provision of additional resilience and review of the maintenance regime.

The spokesperson said the council wanted to thank the Pahiatua community for its efforts and patience and for the work of the council’s water teams and contractor, Filtec.

The council reminded people to be mindful as the weather warms.

“As we head into the summer, water conservation by all communities throughout the Tararua District will be key as it is predicted that we will experience the effects of a potentially strong El Niño.”

The spokesperson said preparing for the summer months now and identifying ways everyone could save water was something “we all need to think about collectively”.

“For the Pahiatua community, who have been practising water conservation over the last two weeks, please keep on using those water-saving techniques you have shown to work as we move towards summer.”