The race is on to get Ohakune’s water flowing again, with Ruapehu District Council targeting 5pm today to restore the town’s reticulated supply following a complicated earthquake-related failure.
Extra crews and resources have been brought in from Whanganui, Auckland and Central Hawke’s Bay as water services contractor Veolia works to overcome an airlock preventing raw water from reaching the town’s treatment plant.
The problems can be traced back to the magnitude 5.9 earthquake on 25 July, which damaged Ohakune’s raw water pipeline.
Repairs were carried out on Friday, but the work resulted in an airlock forming inside the pipeline.
That trapped air stopped raw water moving through to the treatment plant, ultimately leaving Ohakune without its reticulated water supply.
HIDDEN VALVES COMPLICATE REPAIRS
Restoring the system has proven more difficult because sections of the raw water pipeline are buried and run through heavy bush.
That has made locating some of the valves needed to release trapped air challenging for repair crews.
Veolia has now found additional hidden valves and is installing new ones to help remove air from the system.
The contractor has also developed a plan to recharge the water network by introducing water from the treatment plant end.
Council says that should help reduce the amount of time residents have to wait for water to reach individual properties once the restoration process gets underway.
WATER WILL BE TESTED ACROSS NETWORK
Veolia staff will be positioned throughout Ohakune with handheld testing equipment as the network comes back online.
The testing will confirm the water is potable as it moves through different parts of the system.
Residents are being asked to make sure all taps inside their homes and properties are turned off while the network is being restored.
Once water starts flowing again, people may notice it initially has a milky or cloudy appearance.
Council says there is no need for alarm.
The appearance is expected to be caused by harmless air bubbles trapped in the water as the network is recharged.
EARTHQUAKE IMPACT CONTINUES
The outage highlights the ongoing consequences of the July 25 earthquake weeks after the initial shaking ended.
Damage to essential infrastructure can be difficult to identify and repair, particularly when pipelines cross challenging terrain or are buried underground.
For Ohakune households and businesses, the immediate priority is getting a reliable and safe supply back through the taps.
Ruapehu District Council says crews remain focused on the 5pm restoration target and has thanked the community for its patience while the complex repairs continue.
For now, the message to Ohakune is clear — keep the taps turned off while crews recharge the system and prepare for water to progressively return across the town.
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