The main water restrictions are over but the Council is still asking people to conserve water if they can. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
The town of Te Aroha, in Waikato, is able to return to normal household water use today, however Matamata-Piako District Council has asked residents to still save water where they can.
The Te Aroha water treatment plant began experiencing ongoing temporary shutdowns on Monday night, when sediment washed into the plant due to heavy rain.
Residents were asked on Tuesday to urgently reduce water use.
Te Aroha residents and businesses said the call yesterday to conserve water could have been more widespread.
Ironique Cafe manager Fiona said businesses weren't told to stop using water so they continued operating as normal.
"It was kind of weird because nobody really knew about it, I didn't know about it until I got here in the morning."
Street view outside Ironique Cafe in Te Aroha. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod
She said there were a lot of elderly people in Te Aroha who don't have social media and the only way they would have heard about the water problem was on the news.
An elderly resident RNZ spoke to agreed.
"A friend rang and told me because she knows I don't have Facebook," she said.
Once she heard what was happening she used a little basin to wash her dishes yesterday, instead of the sink.
The council said it is introducing temporary water restrictions for gardening use, but thanked the community for their collective effort yesterday to ensure the town did not run out of water.
