5 June 2026: Theft of water monitoring cables

Media: 1News

Topic: Theft of water monitoring cables at Rewarewa spring

Enquiry

Could we get the statement provided to the Rotorua Daily Post for the copper theft story please?

Response

We provided the following:

From Eric Gurden, Rotorua Lakes Council Water Services Manager:

The theft of about 150m of data cable and power cable at council’s Rewarewa Spring water supply pump shed was discovered on 28 May.

The cabling was part of a monitoring system linked to the water take at Rewarewa, which supplies the Kaharoa and Hamurana communities.

Water supply was not affected.

The cabling was removed by digging underground at a water pump shed at Rewarewa Spring (near Hamurana Golf Course) and pulling it out, possibly using a vehicle.

This is theft from the community and is a nuisance for us as it will need to be replaced which will cost approximately $2000.

The theft has been reported to police.

The power cable was made of copper but was a small cable.

Re what the system monitored and what impact the theft had on the monitoring system:

It is a stream flow monitoring system.

We extract water upstream from the Rewarewa spring to supply the Hamurana and Kaharoa communities. This stream flow monitoring site measures the residual (downstream) flow. How much water is remaining in the stream.

As the site wasn't operational the theft has had no impact.