Morrinsville is still at level four water restrictions but their mayor is "hopeful" residents will be able to shower and wash clothes by Wednesday.
It comes after Morrinsville residents were told to reduce water "immediately" after the local council applied "critical water restrictions". This was because of a problem at the local water treatment plant.
Matamata-Piako District mayor Adrienne Wilcock told AM on Tuesday they're working through getting the water treatment plant back up and running.
"The problem is the rain up in the catchment where the dam is has caused a lot of solids to enter the water, so we've got a lot of suspended solids in the water creating turbidity," Wilcock told AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
"That's kind of caused havoc with the filtration system. So while we have problems in the summer, this kind of weather has created an issue for the Morrinsville water supply at the moment, [but] things are on the improve though."
Residents have been urged to only use water for essential needs like drinking and hygiene - flushing toilets, preparing food and washing hands.
"Do not use showers, baths, wash dishes, wash clothing or use any water outdoors," the council said.
But Wilcock was upbeat and optimistic that locals could get back to having a shower on Tuesday evening or on Wednesday.
"They [the water team] are starting to process over 200 cubic metres an hour now, so hopefully we'll have enough water to enable showers and washing tonight," she said.
"So really hopeful that we can sort this out and get things back to normal for the Morrinsville residents and businesses. I acknowledge this is pretty tough for them to cope with and very frustrating."
Wilcock told AM she's confident staff will be looking at what can be done to avoid similar issues in the future.
"This rainfall we've had recently isn't really normal. Across New Zealand, I think we've had a lot of rain lately and just in this catchment, I think there was an excessively heavy few downpours just recently that's just added to that turbidity," she told AM.
"The filtration system is new and I expect will be looking at what else could be done to avoid these situations."
Locals can fill up containers from water tankers at these locations:
- Morrinsville Council Office
- Morrinsville Events Centre
- Piako Lawn Cemetery (Seales RD)
- The Rec Grounds (Swim Zone car park)
- Lockerbie playground
The council asks people to bring their own containers and they're also able to fill up containers for friends, family and neighbours who are not able to do so themselves.
