Residents and businesses in Dargaville have faced a sudden water shortage after the local reservoir's supply fell to less than 10%. Photo / Tania Whyte
Residents and businesses in Dargaville have faced a sudden water shortage after the local reservoir's supply fell to less than 10%. Photo / Tania Whyte
Scores of homes in Dargaville remain without water because of supply pipe breaks and reservoir issues.
Kaipara District Council is trucking water in and working to repair leaks and bleed air from pipes.
Residents and businesses are frustrated, calling for better communication and urgent infrastructure upgrades.
Scores of homes in Northland town Dargaville are still without water, while businesses and others are being asked to conserve as much as possible because of a break in the supply pipes causing local reservoir levels to fall.
The issue has raised concerns among some residents about how it willaffect businesses and public health, and triggered calls for greater communication about how long it will take to fix.
Affected residents earlier found their supplies suddenly cut off yesterday as Kaipara District Council reported the reservoir’s water levels were falling and had dropped to 10%.
Work crews discovered and then repaired at least two leaks in the pipes overnight, but the operations let air into the line feeding the water treatment plant.
“The team are working to bleed it out so that water can flow smoothly and we can start treating water again,” Kaipara District Council said this morning in a Facebook post.
“The line is around 40km long, and it must be done slowly to avoid pressure blowouts and damage so this is going to take some time.”
Council said it was meanwhile trucking water into the reservoir to keep a flow of water running into the town.
A single water tanker was also parked outside the Northern Wairoa Boat Club so residents could go and fill up their own containers.
Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents Association chairwoman Rose Dixon. Photo / Denise Piper
Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents Association chairwoman Rose Dixon called on council to be clearer about how long the water tanker would be parked up so locals could plan their day while ensuring they could collect water.
She also called for greater clarity about when the main pipe was expected to be back up and running.
Dixon said affected businesses, such as cafes unable to make coffee, mothers needing water for baby milk and public health issues were among residents’ concerns.
The council earlier said it had closed all public toilets but had set up or would be setting up portable loos for public use on Victoria and Totara Sts and in Selwyn Park.
It asked for residents’ help in continuing to conserve water by holding off running dishwashers and doing laundry, not flushing the toilet, turning off running taps and delaying showering.
“We’re sorry this has happened. We have crews working non-stop and doing everything they can to get this sorted,” it said.
Schools in Dargaville earlier switched to on-site water tanks that they received from the Ministry of Education after a drought in early 2020.
Business owners were also earlier critical of poor communication from the council.
Apparelmaster Drycleaners owner-operator Corine Lord said a council spokesperson phoned her at 9.30am yesterday, which she believed was too late because the business starts work daily at 3.30am and had already completed most of its washing for the day.
“The damage was already done, so to speak,” Lord said.
In the two years she has owned the business, including during a drought earlier this year, this was the first time it had faced the prospect of potentially being unable to operate because of a water shortage.
Sixty 8 Cafe owner Alesha Thorn said people were frustrated about the town’s ongoing water issues, which have hurt businesses and shaken community confidence.
Dixon said the shortage reflected the dire state of the town’s infrastructure.
“We need Government intervention to solve it, as the burden to ratepayers is just too high.
“We have a small ratepayer base to service the region and, as a result, our infrastructure upgrades and repairs are being neglected.”
