Water usage warning

The installation of a filtration system for Temuka’s asbestos-struck water supply has gone according to plan - but now people have to do their bit by conserving water, the council says.

The plant was put in on Sunday night, with the town’s water being shut off for several hours.

Currently the town’s water pressure is normal, but it is expected to drop once the filtration plant is operative.

Timaru District Council communications manager Stephen Doran said the filter would be ‘‘on steam’’ on Tuesday or Wednesday.

‘‘We’ve now installed the bypass for the water main, and all the connecting pipe work, and we have reinstated the road,’’ he said.

People had to cooperate and follow the council’s instructions to conserve water where they could.

‘‘It’s really down to how behave,’’ Doran said.

‘‘That’s why we are asking people to use [water] wisely.

‘‘The water will always be supplied, it’s just the pressure [that can change].’’

The water tanker was still there for people who wanted an alternative to the town water supply.

No further tests had come back from the laboratory about the water, Doran said.

Asbestos was discovered in the supply in late November, after a substance began clogging people’s filters. It was initially thought to be pollen. The source is thought to be a seven kilometre pipe which dates back to 1964. The pipe runs from the reservoir to a junction outside Temuka.

Austin 92 restaurant owner Craig Austin said as long as the restaurant had running water, it would be able to operate.

‘‘[Lower water pressure] is not really going to bother me personally. We’ve had a few customers ask whether our water is filtered,’’ he said.

On Sunday trade had been affected, as people had not gone out to restaurants much - probably because they knew the businesses in the town were going to be closing early, Austin said. ‘‘No one really went out.’’ However a hairdresser at Inspire Hair Design in Temuka said water pressure at her salon was fairly low already, and it would be a slow lead-up to Christmas if the pressure dropped even further.

‘‘It will affect us,’’ she said. there’s nothing much we can do.’’

Tangles Hair Design salon assistant Rebecca Narayan said it could affect her salon, but currently the water pressure was fairly good.

‘‘It might be a bit slower, just washing people’s hair.’’

The tank recently put in by Nexus, near the Z Temuka petrol station, had been very handy when it came to getting water for her family’s own supply of drinking water.

Nexus plumber and drainlayer Callum Bartlett said he set up a pipe which was running filtered water to a tap out front of the business on December 8.

It was a ‘‘pretty basic’’ initiative to set up and he had the means to do it, ‘‘just sort of helping the community out’’. people ‘‘But