"Thank you very . . . much."
Mrs Power said when she arrived at work yesterday the King Edward St premises resembled a toddler's pool, with more than 15cm of water covering the floor.
"It was just devastating," she said.
Following a week of renovations, the salon was this weekend to have hosted a launch with its clients, but now faced a tight deadline to be ready, she said.
"The show is still going to go on."
With washing machines and dryers full of water, furniture ruined and the floor needing to be ripped up, the damage to the business was likely to be in the tens of thousand of dollars, she said.
Fortunately the business was insured, she said.
Mrs Power thanked the South Dunedin businesses who offered support, the Fire Service, and her staff, who helped clean the mess.
Constable Simon Reay, of South Dunedin, said a pipe connected to a water tank above the hairdresser was removed on Thursday night, which caused water to cascade through the building before it was discovered shortly before 9am.
Police were pursuing a positive line of inquiry, he said.
