Western suburb residents are being advised to cease watering their gardens and hold off on washing cars and having baths as a major water main has broken at Greerton.
This has cut supply to the three Cambridge Road reservoirs, which supply water to Bethlehem, Brookfield, Otumoetai and Matua.

A burst pipe is putting the water supply for Tauranga's western suburbs at severe risk.

A secondary main to the Cambridge Road reservoir is still working, but at a reduced rate, says city council communication advisor Marcel Currin.
'There is a certain amount of water still being supplied to the reservoir, but it is not going to keep pace with the normal consumption of water we have in these areas,” says Marcel.

It will probably be at least another day before supply is restored, says Marcel. A 50 metre section of water main will have to be replaced and it needs to be sourced from Palmerston North.
'The message at the moment is we really need to conserve water till we know how long it's going to take.”
The alert affects only Bethlehem, Brookfield, Otumoetai and Matua, which are all now relying on whatever water is left in the Cambridge reservoir.

Photo: Bruno Weidmann

The water main break happened about 5.30pm on Wednesday.
Bruno Weidmann was about to go into town when he saw water bubbling up through the grass at the end of Chadwick Road.
He drove down for a closer look and saw the torrent quickly chew into the road seal and excavate a tunnel following the smaller Jones Street pipeline.
'It gouged out a tunnel along that line,” says Bruno.
'Little kids were coming up to have a look and all that was left was the lawn on top.”
Bruno stayed on guard for about an hour making sure no one fell in, before council staff arrived to fence it off.
Bruno gives his account on video below.