Taranaki water woes to continue
A pipe damaged in Tuesday’s cyclone which left thousands without water has been repaired.
A large tree crashed down on to a water pipe which supplied a 4.5 million litre water tank reservoir at New Plymouth’s water treatment plant, south of the city, during the storm and caused the most significant loss of water supply the region has experienced.
It forced severe water restrictions to be put in place and cut supply to up to 10,000 New Plymouth residents for days.
On Thursday night New Plymouth District Council external relations manager Jacqueline Baker said repairs to the pipe had been completed and water was running through it.
Staff worked through the night at the treatment plant to produce water, gradually refilling our pipes and reservoirs,’ Baker said.
The process needed to be carried out slowly so the pressure could be controlled and air vented from the pipes as they refilled with water.
The refilling would take at least but the NPDC is unsure when supply will be totally restored to all residents.
Once restored there will still be several days of flushing the pipes clean, so the water could be made safe to drink again, Baker said. She said residents needed to continue to boil water until further notice.
News the pipe had been repaired would bring relief to thousands of people who have been without water since the storm and have had to queue up to fill containers from water tankers supplied by the council and businesses affected by the restrictions.
There were fix-it squads in Waitara yesterday morning, venting air and water from about 30 fire hydrants in the area before moving to other districts, Baker said.
‘‘We have to manually remove the lid of fire hydrants, and install a vertical pipe [stand pipe] which will allow air and water to escape the system as it is gradually refilled. We need to do this slowly so we can control the pressure, venting the air from the pipes as water rushes in.
‘‘People will see water coming out of the pipe and this is an important safety measure, confirming the pipes are full of water and we are controlling the pressure.’’
At 5.30pm yesterday there were still more than 70 hydrants to be stand piped across the rest of the district. Baker said it would take ‘‘about a week until we are in a position to lift the boil water notice’’ once all the refilling and stand piping had taken place.
There would still be disruptions to the water supply while the refill took place, she said.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand acting assistant area commander Dave Utumapu said about 40 firefighters were assisting with venting fire hydrants.
‘‘We have got people coming in on their days off to make this happen,’’ Utumapu said.
A command centre had been set up at the Waitara fire station.
While the refill was occurring there would still be disruptions to water supply in some areas, with Onaero and Urenui possibly having no water.
Water tankers have been put in place at 31 Onaero Beach Rd and the corner of Whakapaki and Nga¯koti Sts in Urenui opposite the primary school.
Civil Defence said it was okay to leave your toilet unflushed for
24 hours, and to use toilets in unaffected areas if possible.
‘‘If it’s getting full, find undrinkable water to pour into the bowl to flush it out – used dishwater, rainwater or paddling pool water.’’
In South Taranaki, stormrelated green waste could be dropped off for no cost at all South Taranaki District Council (STDC) transfer stations between 1pm and
4pm until Sunday February 25. The STDC has also set up three alternative sites to drop off green waste in Ha¯ wera, Normanby and Kaponga.
Naumai Park in Ha¯ wera has a lot of damaged trees and people are asked to stay away. Numerous streetlight bulbs have blown and should be repaired by the end of the week.
Civil Defence emergency controller Brent Manning said the State of Emergency declared after the storm remained in place.
He expected it to be reviewed last night.
There were a number of things, including public health, that needed to be taken into consideration before it was lifted, he said.