Diamond Harbour must boil water following burst main

Wednesday, 4 July 2018

Residents of an estimated 400 properties in Diamond Harbour near Christchurch have been told to boil water after a water main burst.

The burst main was discovered near a damaged wastewater pipe in Diamond Harbour on Wednesday. A small number of homes were without water completely.

Christchurch City Council spokesman John Mackie said all water for drinking, food preparation, utensil washing, brushing teeth or making ice should be boiled until further notice.

'Bringing water to the boil is sufficient to kill bugs. If you cannot boil water, treat it by adding one teaspoon of household bleach per 10 litres of water and leave for 30 minutes.

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'While we don't yet know for sure that the water is unsafe to drink, we're advising everyone in the Diamond Harbour area to take appropriate precautions by boiling their water until told otherwise.'

Mackie said the council were running tests on Wednesday night to determine whether extra chlorine would be added to the water supply to kill any bacteria.

It is important people in Diamond Harbour conserve water too, he said. 

'Because the water main is burst, we can't fill the reservoir, so it's important people conserve their water and limit usage.

'We are currently investigating whether we can fill the reservoir using other means.'

Council crews will be working overnight to repair the burst water main and damaged wastewater pipe.

The Council will also carry out additional testing of the reservoirs and houses in the area to check for contamination on Thursday.

The boil water notice will remain in place until laboratory tests confirm the water is safe to drink.

Bottled water is being provided tonight to the two to three houses without water supply.

Employers should make sure boiled or bottled water was available at work, Mackie said.