Pahīatua on water restrictions after problem with treatment plant

Tararua District Council asked Pahīatua residents to conserve water after problems with its water treatment plant.

A problem with a water treatment plant resulted in a total outdoor ban for Pahīatua residents last week.

Tararua District Council issued a “conserve water” notice late last Monday afternoon “due to the water treatment plant having a reduced capacity to produce treated water”.

That left the water reservoir at a critically low level and residents and businesses were asked to defer from any non-essential use.

By Tuesday, the council advised that water treatment specialists and the council’s water team were on site to find the fault which affected the speed in which the plant processed water.

A total outdoor ban was issued and water levels were being continually monitored.

A council spokesman said water teams had conducted a comprehensive four-hour clean of one of the filter components which required treated water from the reservoir.

This meant treated water levels were reduced.

After that was done, the treated water capacity output increased and the water level did rise slightly after the cleaning was completed, he said.

Further cleaning was planned and the council advised via social media on Wednesday afternoon that cleaning of the filter components at the plant had proved successful and they were able to increase water production.

At that stage, the reservoir level was still extremely low and the total outdoor ban was still in place on Thursday morning.