Council plumbers and workers had responded to about 120 properties in the past week, Tate said.
The visits were for sand, sediment, discoloured water, low pressure, appliance issues and drinking water requests.
Tate said the number of reported issues was reducing, but the issue was not resolved.
“As the number of streets and properties affected can change from day to day, naming individual streets would not give a reliable picture,” he said.
Mayor Andrew Tripe apologised on Friday to residents still affected.
“We know this has been frustrating and disruptive for households, and we are sorry.
“It is not as easy as just replacing pipes or continuing to flush certain streets that have been affected.
“The water continues to test safe to drink.”
The council said it had “improved the situation for many properties” by flushing sediment from the system.
Castlecliff resident Robert Fallen first noticed sand while bathing on Friday.
Castlecliff resident Robert Fallen said he had shared the bathtub with sand. Photo / Noam Mānuka Lazarus
“[My caregiver] just finished bathing me, and she was just going to rinse it out, and I said, ‘Look at the sand’.”
He ran water in the bathtub again on Monday and it was still “a bloody sandpit”.
“I’ve been fine … but I don’t drink much [tap] water; I drink Fanta. My lifesaver, they call it.”
Julie Siemonek said water pressure in her taps and shower first reduced a few months ago, but the problem escalated in early September.
“It’s just the pressure. We’ve always had good pressure here.
“The kids and the grandkids and that, they loved coming up here and jumping in our shower.”
While the council had not visited their home, Siemonek said she had not raised the concern with it either.
“They chuck [the letters] in the letterbox and all of that, sporadically.
“All we know is just, sort of, what’s reported.
“Until the council does their bit and actually finds out why it’s happening, you can’t really do anything about it.
“It’ll just be nice once they get it sorted. Otherwise, we’re living the dream.”
Tate said the council was receiving independent assurance on whether its proposed solutions were “appropriate”.
Castlecliff has about 20km of water mains and although faster, more aggressive interventions could be done, this could create new problems, he said.
Engineers advised the council on precedential issues during the Christchurch earthquakes, but the circumstances were very different, Tate said.
“This is an unusual event.
“As work on a longer-term plan to resolve the issue is still underway, final costs won’t be available until a later date. We are working with our insurers as part of this process to also minimise costs.”
Tate said the council could not “reliably” quantify the water flushed from the system, but it was a “considerable” volume.
The council set up a water tanker to provide drinking water to affected residents on September 10.
On Friday, the council announced it had moved the tanker from Thatcher St “after some lowlifes stole the truck batteries”.
The theft took place between 10am and 4pm on Friday, it said.
“The tanker was unattended because we did not expect equipment brought in to support the community would be targeted,” Tate said.
A security guard was monitoring the water tanker at the surf club at Castlecliff Beach after the council reported its batteries were stolen at a previous location. Photo / Noam Mānuka Lazarus
It is now available outside the surf club at Castlecliff Beach from 10am to 4pm daily, with a contracted security guard monitoring it.
Anyone with information about the theft was asked to contact police on 105.
Community drop-in sessions
People can attend community drop-in sessions from 10am to 2pm on Saturday and Sunday at the Duncan Pavilion, Castlecliff Beach.
The council is still arranging water deliveries and plumbers as needed, and considering reimbursements for affected residents who applied.
It advised residents with sand coming through their inside taps to turn them off straight away and run the outside tap closest to their supply for 10-15 minutes.
If the issue does not clear, residents should call the council on (06) 349 0001.
Blocked tap aerators, filters or shower heads could also be cleaned, the council said.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara) is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.