Auckland's Upper Nihotupu Dam. Photo: Watercare / Supplied
The second oldest dam in Auckland is back in service after severe damage to its watermain during the January floods.
The main that carries water from the 100-year-old Upper Nihotupu dam in the Waitakere Ranges to the Huia Water Treatment Plant was damaged by landslips in multiple places.
Watercare head of production Peter Rogers said he was thrilled to have a sustainable water source up and running for the upcoming summer.
"It's great to have this dam and line back into service, it's a really important source for Auckland."
"Being a gravity-fed source it's one of our cheaper and more sustainable sources," he said.
The dam had turned 100 earlier this year in April but has been unable to provide water for the last six months.
Rogers said it took the team a huge amount of work to repair the damage over the last few months.
"The weather and terrain complicated matters, most of the materials and equipment had to be flown in by helicopter," he said.
The dam plays a significant role in Auckland's water sources supplying an average of 22 million litres of water every day.
Over the past few days, WaterCare has been manually increasing and monitoring the water flow, with it now capable of handling its normal capacity with automatic flow.
The dam is one of four that feeds water into the Huia Treatment Plant.
It is also one of two gravity-fed dams, making it one of the most sustainable sources of water for Auckland.
