Eastside residents still urged to reduce water use as wastewater repairs continue

Eastside residents should continue to be mindful of water use. Photo / Getty Images

Eastside residents and businesses are still encouraged to keep water use to a minimum today as crews continue repairs at the Hona Rd pump station.

A build-up of wastewater from a damaged pipe caused calls for reduced water use in the eastern suburbs of Rotorua yesterday.

Rotorua Lakes Council said in a statement this morning repair work by Trility crews yesterday was hampered by heavy rain.

"While work is under way it's still important that eastside residents continue to be mindful of water use," the statement said.

Ways to do this include having short showers, saving unnecessary washing for another day, not flushing the toilet if you don't need to and not leaving taps running.

"With an extensive wastewater network of more than 500km of pipes, unforeseen faults, damage or breakages in the network are expected and can be due to age, condition or damage that occurs within the network," the council said.

"There are emergency procedures in place to ensure we respond as quickly as possible to any issues to reduce any impact on the community and the environment."

The council said in this instance procedures in place ensured staff responded immediately and were able to avoid the potential overflow from the main eastside pump station on Hona Rd.

The call to residents to try to keep water use to a minimum also helped to avoid an overflow and the council said it was grateful for the public's help.

"The build-up of silt that had entered and blocked the pump station has now been cleared and temporary measures that have been put in place are working, enabling the necessary repairs to be made," the statement said.

There was no overflow or spill.

"The emergency procedure in place enabled staff to respond quickly which meant they could contain the wastewater on site at the pump station."

Rotorua Lakes Council asked residents and businesses in all eastern suburbs, including Lynmore, Ōkareka, Ngāpuna, Ōwhata, all the way to and including Brunswick and Otaramarae, to help reduce wastewater by avoiding non-essential water use.