Gisborne running out of water

IF a major fire were to break out in Gisborne there’s not enough water in the district to put it out, officials are warning.

A total ban on outdoor water usage in the district is in place, which means no sprinklers, hoses, washing cars and dog or filling pools until reservoirs fill back up.

‘‘The city is using over a million litres of water an hour. If the high use continues it will take days to refill our reservoirs,’’ Gisborne District Council spokeswoman Jade Lister-Baty said in a statement.

‘‘The supply is keeping up with demand, but at this rate it will take longer than expected to replenish the reservoirs. If there were an event such as a major fire, an unexpected pipe break or earthquake then we won’t have enough water.’’

The council has asked residents to take action now so no further restrictions are needed.

‘‘This is only until we get the reservoirs full. We may be able to lift the ban by Monday if people conserve now.’’

A leak in Gisborne’s main water pipe was discovered on Thursday, which threatened the whole supply.

Gisborne district mayor Meng Foon, pictured, confirmed yesterday afternoon the leak had been fixed and water supply was expected to be flowing as per usual by Wednesday.

Foon said they would like to get the district’s water usage down to 800,000 litres per hour while they are running off water from the reservoirs.