Water at Napier's waterfall stops falling

A sign explaining why the pond has been emptied. Photo / Duncan Brown

Maintenance work on a Napier pond has stopped the city's only waterfall from falling.

The waterfall in Centennial Gardens has been out of action for several months, a Napier City Council spokesperson said.

She said the Infrastructure team at NCC have been working on a project on the pond which feeds the waterfall, including design work.

They are also obtaining a building consent for repair work which needs to be done on the bridge in the gardens, which is being done at the same time as the pond maintenance.

"The actual physical work is due to begin soon but is weather-dependent.

"There is also some work being done on the drainage."

The Centennial Gardens waterfall currently has no water falling. Photo / Duncan Brown

The pool has been drained to conserve water due to leaks.

The waterfall is man-made. The gardens were initially built by prisoners in 1974, to commemorate the centenary of the city.

It was built on a former quarry, with all the soil from the gardens having to be transported to the site, at the corner of Coote Rd, Marine Parade and Breakwater Rd, at the bottom of Bluff Hill.

The waterfall is fed from a lower pool with the water pumped into the main pool, before being pumped to the top of the cliff where it falls down the 40m rock face.

In turn, spray from the waterfall has allowed plants to grow on the rock face.

The garden is now looked after by Napier City Council gardeners.

The former prison, which is across the road from the gardens, is now a tourist site and backpackers.