by Anne-Marie Emerson
Wanganui residents need to save four million litres of water a day for the next two weeks.
That's the message from Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws, as council staff try to diagnose and fix the broken pump at the Kai Iwi No 3 bore.
An immediate sprinkler ban was imposed at the weekend and water pressure to the city was reduced after the pump stopped working on Friday.
The Kai Iwi bore supplies about a third of Wanganui's water.
Mr Laws said Wanganui residents needed to show restraint in their water usage, until the pump was fixed or replaced.
"It's absolutely essential that people observe the sprinkler ban, although hand-held hoses are okay."
Mr Laws urged people to fix any household leaks. He said on an average summer day Wanganui used between 30 and 36 million litres of water, and that needed to drop by at least four million litres.
"We have a two-week window in which water supplies will be low."
Today the pump will be stripped and a specialist camera will be sent down the bore shaft to check for damage to the screen and casing.
About 10 council staff are working on the bore. Council infrastructure manager Julian Reweti said the bore's failure was a "bit of a mystery".
"There was no real warning it just stopped.
"This pump is only four months old. It should be able to run for three years without any problems."
Pump crisis: call for conservation of city's water
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