Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden thanks the community for their water conservation efforts yesterday and reports that while sustainable water use should always be something we strive for, the urgency and necessity for strict water conservation has now eased.

“After the weather event we experienced last June, where we had critically low levels in our water reservoir and water turbidity (muddiness) in the Ōhau River meant our water treatment plant was unable to treat water for a period of time, we thought it best to take a precautionary measure and ask people to conserve water. While the weather seems ok for now and our Levin Water Treatment plant is back up and running, the forecast does raise room for concern.“

Mayor Bernie continues, “Thank you to everyone who followed our advice yesterday and reduced their water usage. Thank you also to those who stepped out to help one another by clearing drains or checking on their neighbours. It is always encouraging to see such a strong sense of community.”

Weather forecast

A severe thunderstorm watch, heavy rain watch, strong wind watch and heavy swell warning is in place for Horowhenua for the remainder of Sunday, and much of Monday. Visit metservice.com/rural/regions/kapiti-horowhenua for regular updates.

Infrastructure

Our wastewater network continues to process higher than normal inflow, but is coping with the additional strain. Yesterday we did have reports of isolated incidents. If you have any concerns about wastewater infiltration, please contact us immediately on 06 366 0999.

· Levin Water Treatment plant is up and running. Water storage capacity is at 80%.

· Tokomaru Water Treatment plant is offline due to high turbidity. A water tanker is onsite to supplement water as required.

· Shannon Water Treatment plant is running. Water storage capacity is at 90%.

· Foxton and Foxton Beach Water Treatment plants are running and at capacity.

Power supply

Electra linespeople have restored power to all properties. All 33 power lines across the district are operational and transformers hit by lightning restored. Visit outages.electra.co.nz for regular updates.

Roading

Surface flooding on local roads has largely dissipated.

Waka Kotahi NZTA have removed their area warning for SH57 from Levin to Koputaroa and Potts Road. Visit journeys.nzta.govt.nz for State Highway updates.

Assistance available

Please call Council on 06 366 0999 if you have been effected by the weekend’s weather event and need support.

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