Bay View water back to normal after estuary pipeline repairs

Two months of crisis over leaking water supply pipes servicing Bay View on the northern fringes of Napier is over and replacements are now in use.

The base for the repairs, on Lagoon Farm, south of Hawke's Bay Airport. Photo / Napier City Council

Napier City Council confirmed late on Thursday the water was flowing again nine weeks after the alert was raised on April 23, after cracks were discovered in the pipes through Te Whanganui a Orotu (the Ahuriri Estuary), between Napier and the Bay View township, which had disrupted the supply of water to more than 2000 users.

The focus of the repairs on the Bay View pipeline through Te Whanganui a Orotu (the Ahuriri Estuary). Photo / Napier City Council

This sign was one of the ways residents were told of the water restrictions, after an alert was issued on April 23. Two months later the repairs have been completed. Photo / Warren Buckland

The cracks were metres beneath the surface and to effect repairs 320 metres of pipe was inserted in the old pipeline.

Bay View’s secondary water main ensured people and emergency services still had access to water, but there were bans and restrictions on much of the water use.

In a statement released about 5pm on Thursday, Napier City Council water strategy manager Phil Kelsen acknowledged the help and support of residents who had to live with Level 4 then Level 3 restrictions for a few weeks to help manage water use.

“We always encourage people to manage their water use because we need to look after water as a precious resource,” he said. “But it is a bit tough when the city has restrictions eased and one community is left out.”

“The location of the break ruled out any chance of a quick repair,” he said, adding the “challenging time has tested the resilience of our network”.

“We thank the community for their patience while we have worked as quickly as possible to resolve the situation.”

Level 3 water restrictions had been lifted for Bay View and were restored to Level 1 use as in the rest of Napier - meaning no restrictions on water use.

Bay View residents had been on restrictions since the leak was discovered, and Napier City Council stopped irrigating parks and reserves.

Discussing the practicalities of getting back to normal, the council said the new pipe is HDPE (high density polyethylene).

Ten-metre lengths were joined using a hotplate heated to 223C, and the specialised job took place in a purpose-built trailer to ensure, as much as possible, the air temperature remained stable.

For every one degree the temperature rose above 30C, a minute had to be added to the cooling time, and when the two sections had cooled and been pushed or “welded” together, in a paddock near Hawke’s Bay Airport, the pipe was fed out and the next section prepared for welding.

When the pipe was complete, a chain of steel rods was fed through the old pipeline, attached to one end of the new pipe, and pulled, from the Lagoon Farm side near Prebensen Dr, through the old PVC pipe, which had been in place since the 1980s.

Once the pipe was attached, pressure testing, disinfecting and further testing took place to ensure the water was safe to drink.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.