Wanganui water use remains a concern

Wanganui Mayor Annette Main today thanked all those involved in the response to Saturday's weather bomb.

"It has been a fantastic response from the emergency services and contractors who have worked with our Emergency Operations Centre over the weekend," Mayor Main said.

"Although the bad weather has now passed, there are still some significant issues to deal with in the coming days and weeks. The major concerns are restoration of power to the Kai Iwi bores and to people in our community. We know that there are some rural areas in our district which don't have power and that Powerco is working to restore power as soon as possible."

Infrastructure and Property Committee Chair Cr Ray Stevens said Wanganui District Council's infrastructure staff are working hard with Powerco and Tenix to restore power to No. 1 and No. 3 bores at Kai Iwi.

"We were relieved to have No. 2 bore back on line late Sunday morning but our supply is still under pressure without the other two Kai Iwi bores feeding the reservoirs," Cr Stevens said.

"We urge all city consumers to reduce their water use until we can get the reservoirs up to a good level. To help with this, we have reduced water pressure for the city supply which some consumers will notice. The water is likely to be discoloured but it is safe to use and drink. There is a total ban on hosing and sprinkling until further notice."

Sewage in waterways and at beaches will remain an issue for some days. No-one should swim in the Whanganui River and at beaches for the next few days. Sewage issues are likely to affect Mowhanau for the remainder of the week.

Civil Defence Controller Kevin Ross said the Emergency Operations Centre had worked well over the weekend, in association with the Fire Service, Police, contractors, Powerco and Tenix.

"To give people an idea of the huge scale of this event, the Fire Service in Wanganui dealt with 66 major property damage or 'life at risk' events between 6.00am and 2.00pm on Saturday," Mr Ross said.

"On top of that, there were 41 calls about trees and powerlines which the Fire Service passed on to other agencies.

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Wanganui water use remains a concern