Western Bay council considers imposing water restrictions in Maketū, Pongakawa, Pukehina and Paengaroa

People are urged to only use water for essential purposes. Photo / File

A large water leak is affecting water supply to Te Puke residents.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council has confirmed the water leak is what has added to extremely high water consumption in the area.

The water leak on a supply line in the council's Eastern Water Supply Zone is being repaired.

The council had earlier considered imposing a water restriction for Maketū, Pongakawa, Pukehina and Paengaroa after a sudden drop in water pressure, sparked by a spike in water use over the past few days.

The leak on a supply line in the council's Eastern Water Supply Zone was found this afternoon.

Once the leak was fixed, the increase in water supply will help top up water reservoirs and reduce the risk of water running out.

High demand also meant lower water pressure for residents in the Pongakawa, Pukehina, Maketū and Paengaroa areas.

The council's utilities manager Kelvin Hill is asking people to conserve water use over the next 24 to 48 hours to allow the water supply to replenish.

"At this stage we are closely monitoring reservoir levels. If the dry weather spell continues and reservoir levels have not reached manageable levels to meet regular demand we may have to put water restrictions in place," Hill said.

"Until then we are asking all consumers throughout the district to make every effort to conserve water."

As a result of higher demand, some consumers in outer lying areas of the district and those on elevated properties could experience low water pressure.

Last week, the council asked residents to conserve water.

Council network team leader Peter Edwards said everyone had water this morning, however "reservoir levels remain low".

The reservoir supplying water to Maketū, Pongakawa, Pukehina and Paengaroa had dropped to warning levels below 30 per cent last week, but had since restored to 40 per cent.

Edwards said if the levels dropped below 30 per cent again, the booster pump would not kick in and therefore result in "very low" water pressure for people at the top end of Maketū.

Despite last week's water warning, Edwards said there had been a complaint about someone water blasting their roof in Maketū over the weekend.

There were also reports of people turning on their garden sprinklers overnight, he said.

Edwards said Te Puke and Maketū were the areas worst affected but everyone was encouraged to continue to conserve water.

"The only way the problem can be improved is by everyone lowering their water use and using water only for essential purposes," Edwards said.

"Please do not water blast vehicles, water gardens or use water for anything but necessary household use for human and animal welfare. By conserving water it will allow the levels of water reservoirs to lift."

The council is advising consumers to contact its Customer Care team on 0800 926 732 for further information.