Burst water pipes cost Havelock North hairdresser thousands

More than 70 homes were affected and roads damaged when two water pipes burst in Havelock North on Tuesday. Photo / Caroline Ellmore

A Havelock North hairdresser had to rush clients to another salon and has been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after two pipes in two days burst outside her salon.

Caroline Ellmore, owner of Maven Hair and Skin on Te Mata Rd, had to cancel afternoon and evening appointments twice this week after her water was switched off to repair the burst pipes.

Hastings District Council teams responded to a burst pipe on Te Mata Rd, about 3pm on Tuesday.

They were called to the same road a second time a day later for another burst pipe.

Water services to surrounding streets were turned off for about four hours on both days while repairs were undertaken.

"We had clients with colour processing and had to immediately put a plan of action as we didn't have any water," Ellmore said.

They put the three women in a car and whisked them down the road to another hair salon in Havelock North.

The rest of those days' appointments were cancelled. Staff normally worked until 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

"We had our whole night ahead of us."

She said it would probably result in about $5000 to $6000 lost income.

Additionally, staff would have to work extra hours this week to make up cancelled appointments, she said. She is yet to decide if she will seek compensation.

"It's a total inconvenience for me, my staff and our clients.

"It puts everybody out."

While the council was quick to fix the issue, Ellmore said it was frustrating because it happened twice in one week and on a section of road where lots of work had been carried out in the past.

"We have constant road and water works.

"We've only just had this road fully done. They spent so long working on it."

A council spokesperson said identifying the cause of the leaks was a priority, which included an investigation into its operations and the network.

They apologised to residents and anyone running a business in the area who was affected.

"Our teams responded immediately and worked hard to restore the service in as short a time frame as possible."