Relief in Rāwene as water leaks traced

Vigilant Rāwene residents are being applauded for helping to prevent the town’s taps running dry over the weekend after several suspected water leaks were called into the council.

Residents were urged to report any signs of water leaks late on Friday after council water contractor, Far North Waters Alliance (FNW), warned that unusually high water consumption was outstripping the ability of the Ōmanaia water treatment plant to replenish Rāwene’s water reservoir. It advised that the town might run out of water altogether if the cause of the high consumption – most likely one or more leaks in the system – could not be found.

Residents responded quickly, helping to pinpoint two water leaks. A third leak was traced by NFW staff on Friday. It says that leak was likely to have been the main culprit behind high water consumption. However, it had been difficult to locate because it was hidden by long grass and flowed into a nearby drain.

With all three repairs completed, water consumption has returned to normal levels, or roughly half of the 240 cubic metres leaving the reservoir each day on Friday.

“I want to thank Rāwene residents for being our eyes and ears on the ground. Together with our own staff who were out checking the network, eagle-eyed residents helped avoid a loss of water supply to Rāwene homes and businesses,” says Tanya Proctor, Far North District Council’s Head of Infrastructure.

She also confirmed that three leaks discovered on the water main running alongside State Highway 12 between the Ōmanaia treatment plant and the Rāwene reservoir will be repaired this week, once traffic management plans that ensure worker safety next to the road can be signed off.

Water for Ōmanaia and Rāwene is sourced from Petaka Stream, which is very small. Because of its size, the volume of water that can be extracted each hour is strictly limited. That means any leaks in the system can seriously impact supplies for both settlements, says Ms Proctor.