Conserve water call
Waipā will move to Water Alert Level 2 today as the community continues to be impacted by storm damage.
Te Tahi reservoir as it was being drained.
The decision follows significant damage to infrastructure at Te Tahi Water Treatment Plant during the recent severe weather event. That damage reduced capacity and resilience across the district’s water network and has meant emergency water conservation measures for Pirongia township.
Water services manager Karl Pavlovich said moving to Alert Level 2, which requires residents and businesses to reduce non-essential outside water use, will help protect supply for the whole community.
In Alert Level 2, sprinklers can only be used on alternate days – even-numbered addresses on even dates, and odd-n umbered addresses on odd dates – between 6am–8am and 6pm–8pm. Residents are also asked to avoid hosing hard surfaces, use trigger nozzles on hoses, cover pools, and shorten showers.
The team working on the new connection for Pirongia’s at Te Awamutu’s Frontier Road
20 February 11.40am
Both Waipā and Ōtorohanga districts have extended their respective states of emergency for a further seven days.
Ōtorohanga Mayor Rodney Dow (left) and Waipā Mayor Mike Pettit (right) sign their district states of emergency with Ōtorohanga Mayoral Dog Zeb.
The decision follows ongoing response efforts by both councils, emergency services, iwi and partner agencies after severe weather events across the two districts.
The State of Emergency now remains in place until Saturday, February 28, enabling response agencies to continue accessing resources and acting quickly to support affected communities.
Waipā mayor Mike Pettit said the extension was about keeping people safe as work continued.
“Extending the State of Emergency is about one thing – keeping our community safe. We are not out of the woods yet. While good progress has been made, there are still some significant issues we are dealing with,” Mayor Pettit said.
Ōtorohanga mayor Rodney Dow said conditions in parts of the Ōtorohanga District also remained challenging, with ongoing impacts to roads, farms and access routes.
“Our district has been significantly affected, and the State of Emergency gives us the ability to keep supporting communities, coordinate response efforts and respond quickly as conditions continue to change,” Rodney Dow said.
“The extension is not a reason to panic. It gives enacts the right legal settings to continue managing the situations in the best way possible.”
Local iwi have suspended commemorations of the Battle at Rangiaowhia this weekend to allow the community to focus on recovery efforts. The Western Waikato Emergency Operating Centre paused this morning to acknowledge the memorial.
Across both districts, response efforts remain focused on restoring road access where communities have been isolated by bridge and culvert damage, supporting farms affected by road closures, and addressing critical infrastructure and water supply issues – including in Pirongia.
“There are still people who cannot return to their homes, and the upcoming switchover of the Pirongia water supply will be a critical point in time,” Pettit said.
“There are council staff, contractors and roading crews working around the clock across both districts, and we are constantly reviewing the situation. We thank communities for their patience and understanding as we work through these challenges together.”
