The ongoing water outage in Kaeo forced Te Runanga o Te Whaingaroa to shut its offices and redirect team members to other sites. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
The ongoing water outage in Kaeo forced Te Runanga o Te Whaingaroa to shut its offices and redirect team members to other sites. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
Kāeo’s ongoing water crisis has forced Te Rūnanga o Te Whaingaroa to shut its offices and redirect team members to other sites. While at least one other business, reliant on the water supply, is also at risk of not being able to operate.
This is the third week the town’swater supply has been shut off. The Far North District Council was asked by Water Services Authority Taumata Arowai to provide a drinking water tanker to the town last week.
The tanker is currently still in the town, as the outage persists, with water expected to remain off for the rest of the week.
Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa pou arahi (cultural manager) Raniera Kaio said staff were not able to operate from their offices in Kāeo and were working in other buildings around town and nearby towns.
Some Kaeo residents have been without water for nearly three weeks, after the supplier shut the water off last month. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
The closure comes as frustration grows among residents. Anna Valentine, who runs a small business in town, said she may have to cancel classes and bookings if the water doesn’t return soon.
“We can’t function without water. It has been ridiculous, we are trying to survive here and no one seems to care.”
She said they were grateful the tanker was in town to provide water, but it was not a long-term solution.
“The water in the tank only lasts about two days and it’s a bit sludgy at the bottom and when it gets filled all that gets mixed in with the water, then it’s all brown.”
Aldridge did not disclose the reason for the outage and said he was not able to say when the water would be back on.
Meanwhile, Aldridge’s brother, Vance Aldridge Smith, said the situation is disheartening to him as a former Kāeo resident.
He said he supplies water tanks across the country and was now looking to get 1000 litre IBC tanks, from Hamilton, to residents that need them.
“What I am offering is a more sustainable way for them to get water, so they don’t have to take their containers back and forth to the truck to fill them up. They can have it outside in their yard.”
“I am feeling really gutted for those people in Kāeo and it doesn’t look good for our family. We are Kāeo born and bred, that is our whakapapa.”
He said the town’s water issues have gone on for too long and something needed to be done.
