Thursday 23 October, 3.55pm

Good news, the Methven water treatment plant is back in action, but we’re asking people to still conserve water until the reservoirs fill up again overnight.

We believe a lightning strike caused the electrical issue that led to the plant shutting down unexpectedly this morning - our contractors have repaired essential wiring today and will be undertaking a full system checkup in the coming days.

The water tanker will remain outside the Methven Medical Centre until the conserve water notice is lifted on Friday morning. Thanks to everyone on the Methven and Methven/Springfield schemes for using water considerately.

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Thursday 23 October, 1.35pm

A water tanker is on its way to Methven, as a contingency plan while contractors continue to work on an electrical fault at the Methven water treatment plant.

The tanker will be positioned outside the Methven Medical Centre and provide potable (drinking) water. Please bring your own containers to fill.

The electrical issue was most likely caused by the wild weather, and it has resulted in the plant being shut down. Our contractors are on site and working hard to get it back up and running as soon as possible.

Water in the treatment plant’s reservoirs is supplying the community at the moment, and residents are asked to use it for essential purposes only – like drinking and cooking, short showers and flushing the toilet.

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Thursday 23 October, 11.20am

Residents on the Methven and Methven/Springfield drinking water supply are being asked to conserve water, after the supply’s treatment plant shut down unexpectedly.

Council is investigating what caused the shutdown, but there is water in the plant’s reservoirs currently to handle essential use. That means households are asked to use water for drinking, cooking, showering and flushing the toilet only until the situation is resolved.

Please be considerate with your water use.

A text message will be sent to those in the affected areas that are subscribed to the Council’s 4196 text alert system. Text your postcode to sign up for Council alerts.