Murky town water not a risk: Council

Raetihi Photo/File

The Ruapehu District Council has apologised to Raetihi residents for any concerns around their water supply.

Council (RDC) environmental manager Anne Marie Westcott said residents would notice a murkiness in the water, but it was not a health issue.

The murkiness and of the water was due to repairs last week of the raw water line from the Makara Stream that supplies Raetihi's water.

Ms Westcott said the line was coming toward the end of its useful life and there was potential for these types of issues to occur.

"The breaks to the line allowed air into the system which made the water from resident's taps appear murky.

"The murkiness of the water was never a health issue, as it is only air.

"Leaving the water to stand will see the murkiness clear in due course."

Some turbidity in the water was caused by the lines being flushed following the repairs, and new water coming into the pipes had not been able to settle.

"As we catch up with treated water production, any turbidity will dissipate," Ms Westcott said.

As an added precaution, the RDC has enacted additional monitoring of the network water quality.