Whakatāne and Ōhope water supply problem resolved

The Whakatāne District Council asked that people only use water if necessary. Photo / File

The local water supply system issue which prompted a plea for Whakatāne and Ōhope residents to conserve water has been resolved.

Yesterday the Whakatāne District Council Facebook page posted that people in the area should "conserve water immediately due to a temporary issue with the water supply system."

It asked that people only use water if necessary and avoid things like washing cars or watering the garden.

Whakatane District Council confirmed today an electrical fault had occurred and was resolved last night.

"The messaging was mainly to try preserve reservoir levels in case the fix wasn't possible in short order, but this turned out not to be the case," a council spokesman said.

"A pole fuse blew, which caused a power cut to the water treatment plant. This meant water could not be pumped from the Water Treatment Plant to the reservoir."

He said the council could not prevent fuses from blowing, but was investigating the purchase of a back-up generator.

The council thanked everyone that had conserved water during this time period.

Some simple conservation tips include:

• Bucket-wash cars or boats, if possible
• Don't refill or top-up swimming pools
• If you know you have leaking taps, fix them now
• If you see a leaking water line, report it to the Council as soon as possible
• Flush toilets sparingly
• Avoid using your bath and cut your shower time down as much as possible
• While waiting for hot water to flow through to showers or taps, catch the unused water in a bucket for use in washing machines or for other purposes.