Residents in a rural Waikato town are being asked to urgently save water after the town's treatment plant was forced to shut down.
The temporary closure of the treatment plant in the town of Te Aroha, about a 55-minute drive east of Hamilton, is due to bad weather causing poor-quality water to enter the plant.
The Matamata-Piako District Council said residents should not use dishwashers, washing machines, baths or water the garden. Showers should only be taken if needed.
"We urgently need Te Aroha to reduce water use to ensure there is enough for drinking and hygiene," the council said.
Water tankers are available for the public to use at the Silver Fern Farms Event Centre and outside the domain.
"Please bring your own clean container. You are welcome to fill containers for family or neighbours who can’t do this themselves," the council said.
Appearing on AM on Tuesday morning, Matamata-Piako mayor Adrienne Wilcock couldn't give a timeframe of when the treatment plant would be back working but said the fine weather today is a "saving grace".
"I can't give any indication at this stage of how long this will be in effect. One saving grace is the skies are clear this morning, the rain has passed on," she said.
"So that will help us significantly in getting the plant back online as that water turbidity changes and settles down. We just ask people to conserve water as much as they can."
Wilcock isn't sure if this will be a long-term issue but puts the current problem down to the amount of rain the area has had over the last 12 months.
"I think it's just the heavy rainfall we've experienced in recent times and the land is still quite waterlogged," she said.
"I think we've experienced a period of wetter weather more in the last 12 months than they have for quite a few years. So I'd expect the nature of the land and it being waterlogged that it's letting go when we do have some heavy rainfall."
Watch the full interview in the video above.
