Water supplies to Outram will be shut down next Thursday as the township's old water main is decommissioned and the new one connected.
All properties supplied by the Dunedin City Council with water from the Outram reservoir would be affected, council asset and commercial manager Tom Osborn said.
The shutdown was part of the council's work on improving the Outram water supply network to replace ageing pipes, increase capacity and provide sufficient water for firefighting.
New water mains had been installed in Holyhead St and Formby St and were being installed in Mountfort St and near the water reservoir in the Taieri Historical Park.
The new water mains had been pressure tested, disinfected and connected to the network. Most of the new pipeline and associated fittings had been installed on Mountfort St and near the reservoir.
''Once this water main is successfully tested, we will need to shut down the water supply to the whole Outram township while the old water main is decommissioned and the new one is connected,'' Mr Osborn said.
The shutdown was expected to take place from 9am to 4.30pm.
However, the water might come back on before the 4.30pm deadline.
''We have planned the shutdown to happen before school goes back, to limit the disruption to the community,'' Mr Osborn said.
Residents were being asked to store water before the shutdown to use during the day and a tanker would supply emergency drinking water near the corner of Holyhead and Hoylake Sts.
The scheduled date could be subject to change due to weather or pressure-testing issues, he said.
''Once the water supply is reconnected, we advise people to run their taps for a few minutes just to clear any air from the system.''
