Pukerimu water supply scheme switched off

19 April 2013

1.15pm

Waipa residents connected to the Pukerimu water supply scheme will need to rely on their stored water supplies until power is restored in Cambridge and the reservoir supply increases.

The power outage was caused by an explosion at the Cambridge substation around midnight and is expected to be restored this afternoon.

Cambridge residents are being asked to step up their water conservation efforts by only using water and flushing toilets when absolutely necessary.

Water Services Manager Lorraine Kendrick said the decision was made to shut off the water supply to the Pukerimu scheme as the reservoir at Cox Road had reached critical levels.

The Pukerimu scheme supplies about 547 rural properties.

Under the scheme agreement, those connected should have 24 hours of water storage on their properties.

Rotorangi School has closed.

Waipa District Council staff are continuing to keep a close eye on water reservoir levels.

Cambridge and Ohaupo are being supplied from existing storage, no new water could be treated until power was restored.

The Hicks Road supply was feeding a limited amount of water to supplement the Cambridge supply.

Mrs Kendrick said the council had contingency plans in place however Cambridge residents should expect to experience low water pressure during the outage.

The council was fielding a number of calls however at this stage the Water Services team were attending to urgent matters only.

A tanker of drinking water had been dispatched to Ohaupo School which had no water. Residents in the Ohaupo area could access to fill their own containers if they were affected.

We are asking residents to conserve water where possible and to refrain from flushing their toilets where possible, said Mrs Kendrick.

We will also need people to keep conservation measures in place for a few hours once power is restored to allow supplies to replenish, she said.