Burst water main closes Auckland mall

The water main caused water to shoot high into the air. Photo / Fiona Wills

A burst water main has left a number of homes and businesses, including the Westfield Mall in Albany, without water on Auckland's North Shore this evening.

The police said the burst main had caused significant traffic delays near the intersection of Oteha Valley Road and Fairview Ave.

It had closed the southern end of Fairview Ave completely this afternoon.

Watercare said the water pipe failure occurred at 3.30pm and had stopped the water supply, or resulted in low water pressure for properties in Albany.

Westfield Albany, which can be accessed from Oteha Valley Rd, closed at 6.15pm because it had no running water.

However, the New World supermarket and Kmart store were the only stores operating.

A Westfield spokeswoman said portaloos had been brought onto site, enabling the two large stores to continue trading.

A VIP event at the mall's cinema had also taken place, she said.

Watercare said about 30 streets were had been left without water or with low water pressure.

"We have been progressively restoring supply to these streets. At the moment, we expect to have water to all remaining streets by midnight," a spokeswoman said.

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