Pōrangahau water supply: Residents urged not to use water

Workers on site to resolve the issue with water supply in Pōrangahau. Photo / CHBDC

A restriction on any non-essential water use has been put in place with immediate effect this morning for Pōrangahau residents.

A Central Hawke's Bay District Council spokesman said their team discovered a "critical" issue with the Porangahau water supply.

Residents have been told to stop all non-essential water use immediately and restrict other use.

"Non-essential use means water use for drinking, hygiene and sanitary needs only. A total ban on outdoor use is in immediate effect," the spokesman said.

"This issue does not relate to the quality of water (it's not a boil water notice) and relates only to the supply and volume of water available."

Chief executive Monique Davidson said the team were on site working at pace to resolve the issue with the water supply in Pōrangahau.

"The team have extracted the pump from the ground to determine the cause of the failure and extent of damage," she said.

"We are confident of the capacity of our reservoirs to be able to maintain supply but we need continued help from the community to conserve water. We have tankers on standby should we need them."

Davidson said the council was hoping to have more details as to what caused the issue and to allow them to more accurately determine how long it would take to complete repairs.

"Currently there is one bore into the water treatment plant and both the Te Paerahi and Pōrangahau reservoirs feed off this water supply," she said.

"The Pōrangahau water supply issue pertains to the quantity of water available and is not related to the quality of the water."

She said it was worrying to have water issues.

"Any impact to our water supply is of concern to council and this is why we have prioritised investment to enhance resilience of the Pōrangahau water network," she said.

"As part of the Long Term Plan is there provision made for a second bore for Pōrangahau."