Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has extended the State of Emergency due to the risk of ongoing slips and flooding.
Video / Auckland Council
Thousands of residents in parts of West Auckland are being warned to urgently conserve water usage or run the risk of running dry.
On Friday, Watercare alerted customers in Titirangi, Konini, Ōrātia and parts of Glen Eden to reduce their water use as the water network remains vulnerable in the wake of last Friday’s storm.
The warning comes after many West Auckland families had their water disconnected for several days after last week’s intense storm, and Watercare was forced to bring in emergency tankers to supply drinking water to affected households.
Watercare chief customer officer Amanda Singleton said last week’s unprecedented weather event damaged a large section of Watercare’s water main on Scenic Drive, and temporary changes were made to its network to restore water to customers.
“These changes mean our Montana Reservoir is now supplying water to more customers than it normally would, and it’s struggling to keep up with demand,” said Singleton.
Customers in these areas are being told to reduce water use as much as possible for the next week.
“We have a constant supply of water filling the reservoirs in the area, and supply is currently keeping up with demand. However, we’re expecting fine weather this weekend, which normally leads to an increase in water consumption. To ensure we maintain or reduce water consumption, we need to let our customers know of the issues and ask them to save water,” said Singleton.
She says Watercare is working on a more robust solution in the transmission system that will alleviate the problem, “but it’s important that we get it right and this is still a week away”.
“We’re asking customers in this area to reduce their water use to ensure everyone in the community continues to have a secure water supply until we’re able to complete further work in the transmission network that will take the pressure off the reservoir,” she said.
Map showing the impacted areas in west Auckland. Map / Watercare
Around 3500 customers live in the area currently supplied by the reservoir.
“The easiest way to reduce water use is to keep your showers short, and to avoid using your hose unless you absolutely need to for flood clean-up work,” said Singleton.
She says Watercare has increased its efforts to find and fix leaks in the area.
“For our part, we’re doing everything we can to find and repair leaks in the area to reduce the demand on the reservoir. Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Just locating leaks can be tricky, and repairs on hilly terrain are challenging,” she said.
Watercare will be contacting customers by text, email and with targeted social media posts.
“If we all do our bit to reduce water use in this community, we can keep the taps flowing,” Singleton said.
Watercare urges customers who see a suspected water leak to report it on Watercare’s website.
Tips for reducing your water use:
Keep your showers to four minutes, or less. If you shorten your shower by two minutes, you’ll already have saved about 20 litres.
Turn off the tap when you’re soaping your hands or brushing your teeth.
Only use your washing machine and dishwasher when they’re full.
Be mindful of all water use in your household.
If you need to use a hose, please use a trigger nozzle to reduce wastage.
