Ashhurst dry run prompts reminder
When water stopped flowing from the taps in Ashhurst many residents were caught out with no emergency supplies at home.
A water main in the village burst on Monday night and it was Tuesday afternoon before the fault was found and fixed, the reservoir was refilled and tests confirmed the water was treated and safe to drink.
Palmerston North City Council deputy chief executive Ray Swadel said bottled and tanker water delivered to the village was in high demand.
The Ashhurst Library handed out more than 1300 one- and twolitre water bottles, and more than 70 people collected water from the tanker at Lincoln Park.
‘‘This unexpected loss of water is a timely reminder to be prepared in having emergency water supplies at their home or workplace, and to have secure and transportable containers to collect water from tankers.’’
Swadel said the council’s contact centre fielded hundreds of calls during the water cut and provided an automated message people could listen to for updates.
The council’s Facebook page also proved its worth, and he encouraged people to use it to find council updates in future incidents.
The council received a handful of complaints about discoloured water on Wednesday and yesterday.
Because there were no further problems with the supply, people were being advised it was OK to run their taps for up to 20 minutes until the water ran clear and to report to the council if that did not work.
The council has a project planned for this financial year to replace pipes at risk of failure along the 6-kilometre rising main from the village’s bore station and the reservoir.
The work is in the vicinity of the pipe that burst on Monday.