Council reverses Ohakune water assessment, says water could be back today

The Ruapehu District Council has reversed an earlier assessment of Ohakune's water issues, saying water could be restored today.

Earlier on Monday morning the district's mayor had said the problem was more serious than originally thought and could not confirm when the town will have water again.

But Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton told Midday Report that although earlier today he had not been confident the water would be back on by 5pm, it had now been suggested that this was achievable with experts coming in from all around the country.

Water supplies to the central North Island town were turned off after last month's earthquake near Taumarunui likely damaged a major water pipeline.

The town's water reservoir is down to 12 percent.

Kirton had told Morning Report it had been more difficult to fix the piping than had been initially thought.

"We've found the leak, we've actually fixed the leak, we've then tried to flush the system out and it's not working that well... and so we're obviously working hard to overcome that problem."

On Monday afternoon the council's chief executive Clive Manley said service contractor Veolia was able to locate hidden valves and was installing new ones to help release trapped air from the system.

"Restoring the supply has been complicated by sections of the raw water pipeline being buried and located in heavy bush, making valves difficult to find.

"Veolia has developed a plan for recharging the water network that includes introducing water from the treatment plant end of the system."

Manley said this was expected to get water to properties faster and council was still targeting for water to be back by 5pm Monday evening.

Additional staff and resources were brought in from Whanganui, Auckland and Central Hawke's Bay to help with the repairs, he said.

Residents were asked to keep all taps inside their properties turned off while network restorations where ongoing.

Manley said the water may have a "milky appearance" when it first returns, caused by air bubbles trapped in the water as the network is recharged, which are "harmless".

Mayor had been unsure when water would be back

Kirton had said there was about 5km of concrete piping that was about 70 years old and may have been affected by the earthquake.

But it was in difficult-to-access terrain which was hard to flush out, he said.

"As soon as we get on top of the airlocks then we'll be able to manufacture the water and then open the systems up for the town, but it's certainly concerning."

The water had previously been expected to be back on by Monday afternoon, but Kirton told Morning Report that was no longer the case, and he did not want to speculate on when it would be back on.

The water plant was brand new and the issue was actually getting the water to the plant, he said.

The emergency situation was worsening and they would be dealing with that this morning, Kirton said.

"It could well be that we have an emergency situation to actually get water from elsewhere, through tankers or the like."

It would take longer than expected to get the existing plant up and running, he said.

It may be necessary to put an emergency water system in place before Ohakune's regular system can be fixed, he said.

"So I can't speculate whether it's a state of emergency yet, but that's one of the considerations you know whether we call on the government for help to actually overcome the issue with our town."

There was an influx of people in Ohakune at this time of year and there were businesses that wanted to be open and operating, he said.

"So we've got to have a Plan B and we'll take whatever measure it takes to make sure we actually get water to the households."

Currently there are emergency porta-loos around the town and water tankers which could be used in emergency situations, he said. They were setting up a centre at the Ruapehu District Council where people could come and collect as much water as they liked.

Water was also being dropped off in some parts of the community such as rest homes and motels, he said.