Water  |  11 Feb 2020

Christchurch City Council has lifted the boil water notice for the Mt Pleasant area.

The Council issued the boil water notice last Wednesday as a precautionary measure following a loss of pressure in the water mains that supply part of Mount Pleasant.

The city’s water supply network relies on constant pressure to prevent any contaminants entering pipes. If the pressure drops, there is a chance the water could become contaminated when it starts flowing again.

Council Three Waters Reticulation Manager Tim Drennan says daily tests of the water over the past few days have shown it is safe to drink.

“No contaminants have been detected in the water so we are lifting the boil water notice. I appreciate it is an inconvenience for people having to boil all the water used for drinking and food preparation, but whenever there is any potential risk to public health we will always err on the side of caution.”

Mr Drennan says the sudden drop in mains pressure was due to a combination of factors, including extremely high demand for water earlier in the week.

“A series of valves had been turned off to redirect the flow of water, possibly from previous maintenance work in the area at some stage. Normally this wouldn’t create any issues; however, when combined with the huge demand for water early last week, the network wasn’t able to maintain enough pressure in that configuration, which meant a loss of water supply.”