Residents are asked to conserve water in Bream Bay, above, and Waipu after problems at the Ruakaka Water Treatment Plant.
Residents are asked to conserve water in Bream Bay, above, and Waipu after problems at the Ruakaka Water Treatment Plant.
Residents of Bream Bay and Waipu have been asked to conserve water today and tomorrow after dirty water infiltrated the Ruakaka Water Treatment Plant.
Whangarei District Council has had to stop production at the Ruakaka Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
Work is underway today to recommission production, but due to highturbidity (cloudiness or haziness of the water) from the filters it has had to dispose of the treated water from the plant.
''At this stage it may take at least the rest of the day to bring the plant back to full production. As a result of this, we are requesting that everyone using our water supply in the Bream Bay area (all of Ruakaka, One Tree Point and Waipu) conserve as much water as possible today and tomorrow,'' Simon Weston, General Manager Infrastructure, said.
The Ruakaka and Waipu area is supplied with water from two Water Treatment Plants, the Ruakaka WTP and the Ahuroa WTP. Mr Weston said the Ruakaka WTP takes its water from Wilsons Dam and the Ruakaka River.
''Last night we were taking water from both sources and we believe that we took something into the plant from the Ruakaka River that upset the treatment processes at that plant. Since then the plant has been shut down and we are trying to recommission production as quickly as possible,'' he said.
''Wilsons Dam has been inspected and looks fine. The Ahuroa plant that takes water from the Ahuroa River is operating fine, however we are unable increase production at this plant. We will be investigating the cause of the issue.''
He asked people to please avoid unnecessary water use, including watering gardens and playing with water outside.
