Port Chalmers residents are being asked to conserve water after a leak at the local water treatment plant.
Council Network and catchment manager Mike Perkins said the leak arose when a valve at the treatment plant malfunctioned about midnight last night.
"Residents aren't going to run out of water, but we're asking them to conserve water so we can retain sufficient storage for fire fighting purposes and restore supplies to normal levels.''
He asked residents to hold off on washing cars and windows and to consider other ways of conserving water, such as having shorter showers.
Port Chalmers residents received most of their water via pipeline from Dunedin, but two local reservoirs, on Reservoir Rd, and the treatment plant, which is further down the hill, provided water at times of peak demand.
The water conservation measures could be needed for about a week, possibly longer, depending on how long it takes for the storage to improve.
