Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson says the council’s contractor Downer should compensate ratepayers if it’s found responsible for the major water shortage in Dargaville earlier this year.
Scores of homes in the Northland town were left without water, while businesses and others were asked to conserve as much as possible after a break in the supply pipes caused local reservoir levels to fall to 5%.
Downer declined to comment while an investigation was taking place.
Whereas the national water authority said other factors were at play in the incident and it does not intend to take action against the contractor.
Jepson’s comments on the May 28-May 31 incident were sparked by a report presented to councillors at the start of September.
The report, delivered by Kaipara District Council’s (KDC) water operations manager Johan Guy, found the crisis began with an infrastructure failure but escalated because of a procedural error.
KDC said a more comprehensive investigation was under way to ensure a thorough understanding of the incident, its contributing factors and whether any action was appropriate.
Jepson said the process was expected to take about two months and no decisions around accountability would be made until it was complete.
According to the report, Downer contractors repaired a failed Gibault joint in the raw water pipe to Dargaville’s drinking water treatment plant on May 28.
However, a pump that should have been switched off was left running during isolation, causing a pressure surge and flange blowout.
Two days later, the town’s reservoir was almost empty and KDC was trucking in drinking water.
Airlocks delayed the restoration of the system until five days later.
Residents experienced low or no pressure and discoloured water, which the council said it analysed as safe to drink and so chose not to issue a boil water notice.
Jepson initially compared the incident to the collapse of a Transpower pylon, which left much of Northland without power.
The economic loss caused by the power incident was estimated to be between $37.5 million and $80m.
The pylon collapse was ultimately attributed to an error by contractors from Omexom, which, along with Transpower, eventually agreed to contribute $500,000 each towards a contestable “resilience fund” for Northland.
Transpower was also subject to an official complaint by industry regulator the Electricity Authority.
Jepson said someone had to pay for the water error.
“If it’s human error that’s been caused by a contractor, they would certainly have insurance to cover themselves, I would think.”
KDC general manager service delivery Nick Bennetts said the issue in Dargaville had involved a breach of protocol and a gap in standard operating procedures (SOP), to be further examined by the current investigation.
Discussions were under way to determine accountability.
The national water authority Taumata Arowai head of operations Steve Taylor said KDC had been in contact with it during and after the water crisis.
The regulator had assessed the incident as a combination of human factors and faulty or aged infrastructure. It did not intend to take any action against the contractor.
The authority recommended KDC formulate clearer emergency protocols, including when to issue consumer advisories.
It accepted KDC’s analysis that the water remained safe throughout the incident but advised a more precautionary approach in future because of the risk of backflow from low pressure – a pathway for contamination.
The report presented to council acknowledged the steps suggested by the authority and said KDC was strengthening infrastructure resilience and emergency preparedness.
Measures included a new SOP for raw water main isolation, refresher training, updated network schematics, Scada alarm upgrades, and improved materials at the Rotu pump station.
While the raw water line was nearing the end of its life, Guy found no early replacement was required.
Jepson said he was disappointed that the Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents’ Association (DRRA) and others made “unsubstantiated claims” before the investigation was complete.
The DRRA had criticised KDC for failing to communicate effectively during the outage and has called for future water loss events to be formally recognised as emergencies.
It also questioned water quality testing, claiming the water during the incident was not only discoloured but slimy at times.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.