Repairs to a West Auckland street's water supply could take several more weeks to fully solve, as residents live on edge waiting for the next pipe to burst.
Lavelle Road residents in Henderson had been forced to shower at family and friends' propeties after a spate of incidents left homes without access to running water for much of last week.
According to Watercare, plans to upgrade the infrastructure were already on the way, but are being fast-tracked in light of recent events.
"An urgent pipe renewal had already been planned fo this area, and now the replacement of this particular section will be accelerated," a spokesperson told 1 NEWS.
"It's expected to be completed within the next month."
Vanessa Blewden, a local resident, said the street had repeatedly been left without water after multiple breaks along the undergorund pipe.
"Everyday the same old pipe is exploding in a different point very close to each other.
"What basically happened is the pipes are too old and they keep trying to put lipstick on a pig."
While she's happy to see the council is taking action to fix the problem, there's concern the upgrade will further halt the street's water during that period.
"I am pleased they are taking action to resolve this, but are they saying we will be without water during that time, or can they replace the section without impacting our existing water supply?"
But when it comes to Watercare's apology, she doesn't think it's enough to satisfy residents affected.
"I, for example, spent days buying food because it's impossible to cook in this situation," Blewden told 1 NEWS.
"Don't you think a sorry for the inconveinience from the company is kind of a joke."
The damaged pipes are well bellow the street, making it a more complex job for Watercare to fix and why the full upgrade is likely to take more time.
"The pipes are deep and located within the road corridor, which makes excavation to locate and fix the burst pipe more difficult. It also apprears another break was caused soon after [the initial] break was repaired," the Watercare spokesperson said.
"Unfortunately, in some instances, the disrption of a large burst can also further weaken nearby pipes. This seems to be the case here."
More Watercare teams are out in the area this weekend, assessing valves in the network to try and identify whether there's been any pressure fluctuations as a result.
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