Too much water for Roxburgh residents but none from taps

Roxburgh residents will wake today to a second day without running water after severe flash flooding on Sunday.

The small Central Otago town is still in crisis mode after about 40mm of rain fell in three hours on Sunday afternoon, causing slips and cutting off the town and its water supply.

Water tankers and portaloos were brought in to the town for residents, while volunteers and emergency services spent yesterday mopping up the mess.

State Highway 8 between Millers Flat and the Roxburgh Dam was still closed last night, after two major slips north and south of Roxburgh, but detours were available. The roads will be reassessed this morning.

Central Otago mayor Tim Cadogan said water could not be turned on until at least tomorrow afternoon.

The pipe to the town's reservoir was ruptured by Sunday's floods and it was completely empty.

The water supply at the Lake Roxburgh hydro village was likely to last another day and residents were being asked to conserve water.

Roxburgh Area School would be shut tomorrow and possibly longer, principal Gary Pasco said. The school was flooded in the main foyer, one of the primary classrooms and a science laboratory.

The school "definitely won't open without water".

The Central Otago District Council did not know if there was a problem with containing sewage yesterday. "With the water system shut down, we don't know if there is damage to our sewerage because all those pipes are underground or, in the moment, rubble," Cadogan said.

Power was off after the storm and came on yesterday in Roxburgh by 5pm and Millers Flat by 2pm. It was back on at the rest-home last night.

North Roxburgh, by Reservoir Creek, was the worst affected area. Rocks slid down from the hill into the creek, destroying gardens.

Eight houses in Tweed St, by the creek, were evacuated Sunday night for a few hours.

Some people went to the evacuation centre, but many residents opened their doors to evacuees.

Cadogan said the last big flood in Roxburgh was a regionwide one in 1978. Central Otago had a smaller flood in 1999.

Some businesses, such as Jimmy's Pies, were closed yesterday due to no water supply. Some stayed open, such as the supermarket.

The district council and emergency services advised people to stay out of Roxburgh, even if they had family or friends there.

Teviot Valley fruitgrowers said the rain — and some hail that fell during the rainstorm in Coal Creek — had not damaged the cherry crop and would in fact help the fruit.

The rain would also save orchardists from irrigating for a time, said Stephen Darling, of Ettrick, and Gary Bennetts, of Coal Creek.