Investigations underway to pinpoint Rāwene slow leak

Rāwene residents are being asked to be patient while council contractors track down a small but persistent water leak visible on the town’s main road.

The leak has been flowing down Parnell Street for several days prompting numerous calls to the council’s contact centre and to local community board members asking for action.

A representative from the council’s water contractors, Far North Waters Alliance, is asking residents to be patient while staff pinpoint the source of the leak. He says that while the leak is very visible on the roadway, it is not affecting levels in the town’s water reservoir and has not required the treatment plant to increase output.

“Small leaks like this are often harder to find. The break is likely to be uphill from where water is appearing on the road surface, so we are using listening devices to help pinpoint the leak site before we start digging up Rāwene’s main road.”

He says contractors have decreased water pressure in the area to reduce the leak’s impact and have attached devices to parts of the network to listen for flow changes associated with leaks.

This is best undertaken overnight, and it is hoped readings gathered today will pinpoint the leak site so that work can begin on making repairs.