Second water pipe burst in two days leaves Warkworth with 'critically' low supply

Friday, 28 April 2023

A second burst water main has left the north Auckland town of Warkworth facing a critical water shortage, Watercare says.

The utilities operator put out a statement on Friday morning urging residents to “reduce water immediately”.

It said there had been another significant water main break and reservoir levels had dropped to critically low levels.

“Please do not use dishwashers or washing machines until further notice.”

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Residents have been told they must not have showers longer than four minutes, and are not to use hoses or sprinkler systems.

Crews were on their way to fix the breach on Shoesmith Street near State Highway 1.

Some residents reported to Watercare on social media that they were without water.

It follows a previous “significant” breach on Thursday when Watercare also asked residents to reduce their water consumption.

Watercare sent a tanker truck to the town and residents were invited to fill containers.

The operator thanked residents on social media around 4pm after the burst pipe on Elizabeth Street had been fixed but asked them to keep conserving water.

“The fault is fixed, but our local reservoirs have drained down quite a bit and need replenishing.”

It is unclear what the cause of the two faults were or whether they were related.

It’s not the first time Warkworth has had issues with its pipes. In 2019 a broken sewer pipe caused a geyser of human faeces to burst through bitumen, closing the town’s main road.

It was fixed within a day but an estimated 50,000 litres of sewage spilled into the Mahurangi River.