Bay View is back!

Published: 30 June 2024

Last Updated: 6 August 2024

Nine weeks after a crack was discovered in Bay View’s primary drinking water main, its replacement is supplying fresh water to the suburb.

Level 3 water restrictions have been lifted for Bay View and are now the same as the rest of Napier at Level 1, meaning no restrictions on water use. Bay View residents had been on restrictions since the leak was discovered, and Napier City Council stopped irrigating parks and reserves.

Phil Kelsen, Napier City Council Manager Water Strategy, acknowledges the help and support of Bay View residents who had to live with Level 4 then Level 3 restrictions for a few weeks to help manage water use.

“We always encourage people to manage their water use because we need to look after water as a precious resource, but it is a bit tough when the city has restrictions eased and one community is left out,” explains Phil.

“The location of the break ruled out any chance of a quick repair. This challenging time has tested the resilience of our network, and we thank the community for their patience while we have worked as quickly as possible to resolve the situation.”

Bay View’s secondary water main ensured people and emergency services still had access to water.

More details on the repair operation:

The new 320-metre pipe was inserted through the old pipeline. It had cracked almost in the exact middle, metres underwater, in Te Whanganui-a-Orotu (Ahuriri Estuary).

The new pipe is HDPE (high density polyethylene). Ten-metre lengths were joined using a hotplate heated to 223° C. The specialised job took place in a purpose-built trailer, to ensure as much as possible that the air temperature remained stable.

For every one degree the temperature rises above 30° C, a minute must be added to the cooling time. When the two sections had cooled and been pushed or ‘welded’ together, the pipe was fed out and the next section prepared for welding. The welding took place in a paddock near the Hawke’s Bay Airport.

When the pipe was complete, a chain of steel rods was fed through the old pipeline. It was attached to one end of the new pipe, and it was pulled through the old one, from the Lagoon Farm side, near Prebensen Drive. Once the pipe was attached, pressure testing, disinfecting and further testing took place to ensure the water was safe to drink. The old pipe was made from PVC and had been in place since the 1980s.

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