Waihī water reservoir filling up, boiling restriction to be lifted at midday

Ollie Drake and Kara Burrell pick up their water rations after they were sent home from school yesterday. Photo / Esme O'Rafferty

Waihi's water reservoir is filling up at pace after a water main break yesterday saw the town run out of water.

The Hauraki District Council released a statement today saying the reservoir had gone from empty to almost 17 per cent full overnight.

It said that it was recovering quickly and will sit at about 20 per cent by midday.

The precautionary boil water notice on tap water will be lifted at midday.

Residents will also be able to have short showers and start doing washing again after lunch, however, were still asked to conserve where they could.

Hauraki District Council issued a warning at 9.30am yesterday saying that reservoir levels were extremely low following a burst water main pipe, advising people not to shower or wash clothes until further notice.

45 minutes later and the town was completely out of water.

Update: Thursday 13 February, 9:25am Thanks Waihi! Good news this morning Waihi’s water reservoir has gone from empty...

Posted by Hauraki District Council on Wednesday, 12 February 2020

The council fixed the break within an hour, but residents were forced to get bottled water from collection points in town as the reservoir kicked back into operation.

Water tanks that rolled into town yesterday will stay in place for another week and residents using this water were asked to still boil it for three minutes as a precaution.

A total watering ban is still in place for Waihi and Waikino.

Waihī schools, apart from Waihi Beach, were closed today and will reopen tomorrow.

Flyers were hand-delivered to all households yesterday outlining the situation.