Bore cleaners let off steam

Routine work added a bit more steam than normal into the Kuirau Park landscape yesterday. Photo/Ben Fraser

It may have looked spectacular but the geothermal activity in Kuirau Park yesterday was just routine maintenance.

Steam and water was pumping out of the bore for about 45 minutes yesterday morning "blowing it clean", according to Garry Brown from Rotorua Well Drilling.

Mr Brown said the work was part of routine maintenance but he admitted it looked pretty impressive.

He said it was a case of drilling out the silica to the bore, which supplied the aquatic centre.

If the bore was not cleaned out every two to three years, it could become blocked.

"We let it run for about 30 to 45 minutes, then slowly bring it back into the line."

Mr Brown said the steam hissing out of the bore was at a temperature of about 130C.

He said the sight and sound of the steam was "very impressive".

"You can tell people but, unless they can see or hear it, it's another thing. People don't realise how much power is coming out," he said.

Rotorua District Council aquatic centre manager Louis Sylvester said the bore provided heating for the centre's pools.

"Work included flushing the bore to remove sediment and this created a large amount of steam for a period of time."

Mr Sylvester said the council had received just one call from someone concerned about the amount of steam they could see.