‘Incidental leak’ caused impromptu water fountain at Whanganui intersection

An incidental leak caused this impromptu water fountain to appear at a Whanganui intersection. Photo / Neil Beissel

An “incidental leak” has been revealed as the cause of an impromptu water fountain that sprang up on a Whanganui street.

The large plume of water appeared near the intersection of Smithfield Road and Jackson Street on Saturday.

Whanganui photographer Neil Beissel, who was passing, said initially water was bubbling up through the road surface which then started to bulge before a large fountain of water spurted out of the ground.

“It looked quite spectacular and the plume was twice the height of the [Veolia] truck - about 5m I’d say,” he said.

Whanganui District Council three waters manager Kritzo Venter said an incidental water leak caused the fountain.

The leaking pipe was exposed and repaired by Veolia staff, he said.

Council contractors have been replacing the 100-year-old stormwater pipeline along part of Smithfield Rd, Konini St and London St with an upgraded system.

However, Venter said the section of water infrastructure where the fountain occurred was not part of the network being replaced, nor would the incident interrupt the council’s work programme in the area.

There were no plans to replace the section of pipes in the future.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.