Latest news with #Dargaville
RNZ News
a day ago
- General
- RNZ News
Water finally restored in Dargaville
Many homes and businesses in the Northland town of Dargaville went without running water during King's Birthday weekend. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Water has finally been fully restored in Dargaville after a massive outage caused by four separate pipeline ruptures last week. Friday's breakages in the 40-kilometre water supply pipeline all but emptied the town's water reservoir and left most homes without running water or under tight restrictions. Kaipara District Council said water was restored to the last homes on upper Hokianga Road, late on Sunday afternoon. However, a resident living just off Hokianga Road told RNZ her taps only started flowing again on Monday night, an outage of almost four days. The council had to scramble to set up water tankers and portaloos around town during the King's Birthday long weekend, while contractors brought in extra staff from Whangārei and Auckland to fix the pipe. In an update posted late on Sunday, the council said tap water in some parts of town was still discoloured, but it had been treated and was safe to drink. The discolouration was caused by sediment being stirred up as the tanks were refilled. A council spokesperson urged Dargaville residents to continue using water conservatively while levels recovered. As of Sunday evening, the reservoir was about 25 percent full. The delay in reinstating water to the upper Hokianga Road area - including Panorama Place, Cobham Avenue and Mountview Place - was due to problems with the booster pumps, the council said.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
'Going to take some time': Dargaville water supply still not fixed
The council said the line into the water treatment plant was still full of air, preventing crews from safely refilling the lines. Photo: Luigi Bertello / 123rf Some residents in Dargaville are still without water and others are being asked to use as little as possible. The Kaipara District Council repaired multiple line breaks on Friday, which had drained the town's reservoirs to critical levels . But on Saturday morning the council said the line into the water treatment plant was still full of air, preventing crews from safely refilling the lines. "The team are working to bleed it out so that water can flow smoothly and we can start treating water again," the council said in a post on its Facebook page . "The line is around 40km long and it must be done slowly to avoid pressure blowouts and damage so this is going to take some time." Meanwhile, the council asked residents to keep conserving water and reassured them the remaining water was safe to drink. "We know a few people are experiencing the water coming through the tap being a bit cloudy or murky," it said. "We are replenishing the reservoir from registered water suppliers and the movement in the tanks is stirring up the water." Some residents told RNZ their water had been cut off and the local supermarket was running out of bottled water. "We're sorry this has happened," the council said. "We have crews working nonstop and doing everything they can to get this sorted." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Dargaville residents asked to conserve water, reservoir at 10%
environment about 1 hour ago Dargaville residents are being asked to conserve water after maintenance teams have worked for hours to patch major breaks in the system. At one point the towns reservoir was down to 10 percent full. Water trucks from Whangarei, Maungaturoto and Ruawai have been pumping water back into the town supply, but have been struggling to keep pace. Kaipara District Council CEO Jason Marris spoke to Lisa Owen.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Dargaville residents asked to conserve water
environment 17 minutes ago Dargaville residents are being asked to conserve water.... after maintenance teams have worked for hours to patch four major breaks in the system.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Kaipara Council cuts water to some properties as water levels reach critical
The Kaipara District Council has cut water to some properties as Dargaville's dwindling water supply reaches critical levels. Multiple water main breaks had brought Dargaville's reservoirs below 10 percent capacity, prompting the council to shut off booster pumps at the treatment plant. That has reduced the water pressure at some properties, and cut the supply at others. A spokesperson for the Kaipara District Council explained the reservoirs could hold around three days worth of treated water, but the damaged lines meant more water was going out than in. They also confirmed the remaining water supply was safe to drink. Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson was hopeful the breaks could be repaired by the end of the day, allowing the water supply to start building again. "I think we'll get it solved today, hopefully we'll be able to update people later today on where we're at," he said. "We are also putting water tankers outside the council building in Dargaville so if people need water they can come and get water if we get to the point where we actually run out." Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson was hopeful the breaks could be repaired by the end of Friday. Photo: Supplied / Kaipara District Council Meanwhile, businesses on Dargaville's Victoria Street were suffering. "[It's impacting] hugely, we've done about a quarter of what we would normally do already," Sixty8 Cafe owner Alesha Thorn said. "We're a little bit nervous to prep and carry on because what if they do shut it off? There's a bit of uncertainty around and I'm not too sure how the rest of the day will go." She said it was confusing and frustrating for businesses like hers that relied on water. "There's not been much communication in the way of: should we be shut? Should we be going? Because when you're holding a food license you can't really conserve any more [water] than usual," she said. "We're kind of here twiddling our thumbs waiting for the odd coffee [order]." She said the district's infrastructure issues had put businesses in a difficult position. "It's not good enough and we'd like the council to put a little bit more maintenance into the systems because we're just constantly having problems up here... I think we've been let down a bit." A receptionist at Dargaville Intermediate noted each of the town's schools had back-up water supplies and would stay open. Dargaville High School said they were open as normal. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
