This page will be updated regularly as new information comes to hand about the impact of the May 9 weather event on our water and wastewater services.
Final update, 10 May, 9.20am:
What’s the weather update?
- There are no severe weather warnings or watches in force for Auckland today.
- We expect brief showers to pass over the region, with the odd thunderstorm this morning and evening.
- There will be gusty winds, with frequent gusts 80-100km/hr. Exposed parts of Waitākere
and Hūnua ranges may see gusts up to 100-110 km/hr. Winds could affect the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
What’s the impact on our operations?
- Our water supply operations have returned to normal. While a storm-related slip caused a water pipe to break in Warkworth late yesterday afternoon, it was fixed within a few hours and did not impact customers.
- Our crews are now focused on cleaning up from the storm. This is because floodwater and rainwater inundated some parts of our wastewater network, resulting in overflows from engineered overflow points, manholes and gully traps.
- Early yesterday evening, we sent an email to 270,000 customers (everyone who has supplied an email address) to let them know how we were responding to the storm. Our key messages were that the tap water was safe to drink; we are responding to wastewater overflows in parts of the network; and to please stay away from floodwater.
- This morning, we are carrying out safety assessments at our construction sites – including our Central Interceptor sites – and will resume work.
Update 4.20pm:
What’s the weather update?
- The thunderstorm warning has been downgraded to a thunderstorm watch. It is in place until 7pm.
- The heavy rain warning remains in place until 7pm.
- We’re expecting another band of heavy rain, though it’s likely to be slightly less intense than what we experienced earlier today.
What’s the impact on our operations?
- Auckland’s tap water remains safe to drink.
- Overall, our networks are operating as we’d expect in weather like this, with both localised overflows and overflows at our wastewater pump stations. These occur because our wastewater network is being inundated with rainwater.
- Our customer services team is keeping on top of reported faults, which mostly relate to overflows.
- We’ll have staff on site monitoring our major water treatment plants overnight.
- We shut down our infrastructure sites earlier today as a precaution.
Update 12.30pm:
Given the heavy rain we’ve had in Auckland this morning, and the rain and thunderstorm warnings still in place, we’re keeping a close eye on our water and wastewater services. We will keep this page updated with information on any impact to our services.
What you need to know in the meantime:
- Please don’t walk, swim, play or drive in any floodwater. It could be contaminated with wastewater overflows, and even just 15cm of floodwater can sweep you off your feet.
- Auckland Council is responsible for stormwater. Their website has information on how to report flooding.
- If you need to report an issue with your water supply, or a wastewater overflow in your neighbourhood, please use our LiveChat function. It’s the quickest way. Please note, our crews will be unable to attend the wastewater overflow to clean up until the weather has eased and the overflow has stopped.
- The water in your taps is safe to drink.
How we’ve prepared for today’s weather event
- Our team has sandbagged critical assets like major pump stations to minimise impact from flooding and tidal surges.
- We have extra staff on standby, ready to respond to any disruptions to service
- We are staffing our key water treatment plants 24/7
- We have generators stored at yards ready for deployment.