Two burst water mains in Whangārei cut supply to suburb of Ōtangarei

This burst water main, on William Jones Dr, was one of two that cut water supplies to Ōtangarei yesterday. Photo / Mike Dinsdale

Two water mains that burst within minutes of each other cut water to parts of the Whangārei suburb of Ōtangarei for more than two hours yesterday.

Whangārei District Council Distribution engineer David Drummond said the bursts occurred around midday during maintenance testing.

Water started lifting the road surface when a pipe burst on Jack St, at the intersection with Jane Nelson Pl, with water streaming down the road.

Around the same time, a burst pipe resulted in water gushing up on William Jones Dr, near the Ōtangarei shops.

Police closed part of Jack St during the disruption, diverting traffic through Jane Nelson Pl.

The estimated time to repair the breaks was two to three hours.

A burst water main on Jack St, Ōtangarei, lifted part of the road surface and cut the water supply to the suburb yesterday. Photo / Mike Dinsdale

"Contractors are now at the site repairing the bursts and we will get water supply back up and running as soon as we can," Drummond said yesterday afternoon.

He said the first priority was repairing the water supply and once the leaks were repaired the contractors would be able to give an estimate of how much water has leaked out of the system.