Staff at Richdale Fire and Security were startled yesterday morning by a heavy downpour coming out of a clear blue sky.
However, it wasn't rain - it was a torrent of water from a disconnected water pipe outside the company's Maria Place Extension premises.
Wanganui District Council's senior engineering officer Dave Rudolph said Bullocks were working on a new stormwater connection and hit the water connection, pulling it out of the water main. "They had to do an emergency shut-off for half-an-hour. It was repaired and the water was back on by late morning," Mr Rudolph said.
Richdale manager Les Wilson said just before 11am staff heard "what sounded like a heavy downpour" on the roof.
The angle of the water meant most of it landed on the vacant building next door.