Minimal disruptions caused to cafes following damage done to water line

Local firefighters announce the water crisis to residents the "old school" way, via a loud speaker. Photo / Rachel Wise

Damage done to the water lines that supplies the Central Hawke's Bay towns Otane and Waipawa has been repaired but the towns are not completely out of the woods yet.

While residents can use their water indoors again, there is still a ban on outdoor water usage.

Central Hawke's Bay District Council contractors repaired the damage to the water line caused by a contractor working on private property at 9.30am on Friday.

The damage caused minimal disruptions to two Waipawa cafes which had to temporarily close down.

The damaged pipe has now been repaired. Photo / Supplied

Mumma G's Cafe owner Gloria said while they closed down the coffee machine on Friday afternoon, everything else was still available.

"We have been open the whole time. We had about two people who couldn't get a coffee, but we had cold drinks so that was okay.

"It was business as normal."

Nola Cafe and Restaurant owner Sharron Hales echoed the sentiment and said they closed on 2pm but it caused "minimal disruption".

"We had a really good day on Friday so it was okay.

"I take my hat off to the council. They did a really good job of keeping us informed and getting the pipe repaired so quickly."

Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker said while the line was repaired, it was still vulnerable to failure and asked communities to continue to conserve water over the next couple of days.

"Thanks to everyone for your conservation efforts.

"Everyone can now use water indoors, but level 4 water restrictions are still in place in Waipawa and Otane, which means there's a total ban on outdoor water use.

"While the towns are out of immediate danger of running out of water, there's still a chance the line that feeds the Waipawa reservoir could fail again."

She said there were contingency plans in place in case the water line had any more failures.

"We've got an alternative water line ready to go, and we'll monitor the line in the coming days.

"We've also got contractors on standby."

Walker said the repair team's efforts today were focused on a two-metre section of pipe, but a 125-metre section of pipeline was potentially damaged.

She said the towns' water-saving efforts were a great example of community spirit.

"We've been delighted to see everyone pull together to get this sorted, not least of all our community members who have put in a stellar effort to save water, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Red Cross volunteers," she said.

"Our contracting partners have worked tirelessly since 9.30 this morning to get the pipe up and running, and our staff members have pulled together to manage the situation as quickly and effectively as possible.

"Thank you to everyone involved."