Dennis Kirkpatrick, owner of the world-famous Jimmy's Pies in Roxburgh has run out of pies after his business had to close after flash flooding cut the town's water supply.

Pie-lovers across the lower South Island have become inadvertent victims of Roxburgh's severe flood damage. Jimmy's has run out of pies.

The family-run business has been baking pies since the 1950s and is one of the many businesses in the small Central Otago town forced to close its doors this week after torrential rain and flooding damaged the town's water supply infrastructure.

Teviot Valley Community Board Chair Raymond Gunn said contractors were progressively testing the Roxburgh water network today, testing pipes and pumps for damage and leaks, in the effort to restoring supply.

STUFF Mmm, pies. Jimmy's pies, when they're available, are delicious.

"There will be grit, gravel and other debris in the system following the floods, and it is important that this is flushed through the system before water begins flowing into individual properties. In this way we aim to avoid grit and other debris damaging home plumbing and appliances."

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Dennis Kirkpatrick, of Jimmy's Pies, is one business owner keen to get the water back on.

STUFF Let's hope pie production can being again soon.

"We bake 20,000 pies a day, employ up to 30-odd staff and been shut since Monday. We thought the water would be back up and running on Tuesday night . . . There a quite a few shops shut because you can't wash dishes or hands. Hopefully we can get the water back on tomorrow. There is no traffic coming through town anyway, just trucks blowing lots of dust everywhere. The odd worker has pulled up wanting a pie and I've said, 'as soon as you get the pipe fixed you can get a pie."

Customers who might usually have ordered four to five boxes of pies had been rationing and cutting orders back to share the remaining stock around, he said.

"We have been ringing clients to let them know what is going on. We had some pies left in the chillers and trucks have been doing delivers to shops in Dunedin and Invercargill to top them up but we have none left."

SCREENGRAB/FACBOOK Fans of Jimmy's Pies have to deal with a shortage of their favourite pies.

And that's bad new for fans of Jimmy's Pies.

Pie-lovers have been leaving messages on the I Love Jimmy's Pies.

"National emergency," says Alana Coleman.

Jo McKenzie-McLean A usually busy main Roxburgh street has become a thoroughfare for trucks carting flood debris and rocks to a nearby transfer station.

"Not cool," said Jessica Thatcher.

And Leanne Crossley suggested "a mass airlift of pies".

If the water was restored and the business could open on Thursday the team, including five of his children who work in the business, were preparing for a "hell day".

Jo McKenzie-McLean Dennis Kirkpatrick, owner of the world-famous Jimmy's Pies in Roxburgh has run out of pies after his business has been forced to closed for three days after flash flooding cut the town's water supply.

"There will be nothing else. It will be mince, mince and cheese and that is it. There won't have time to look at the other ones. We will just get the basic ones out and get the customers supplied then probably next week look at getting into the other lines like the sausage rolls and mutton pies. The main thing is getting the mince and mince and cheese out which are easy and quick to do, and you can do a lot of them in hurry."

Staff had offered to come and work on Saturday to get pies out, he said.

Gunn said Roxburgh had light rain overnight but fortunately it did not present any fresh concerns for contractors and emergency management staff.

The key focus of response efforts today was working to restore water to households and businesses in Roxburgh.

All affected households in Roxburgh were being door-knocked by council staff and contractors, with a team of local volunteers, to explain the staged process and give assistance where needed turning off water supply to the property at "the toby".

"A careful, staged approach is being taken to restore the supply, so some parts of town will have water earlier than others. This is to avoid overloading the system when it is in a vulnerable state, and to make sure we can identify and fix any leaks or damage that only becomes apparent when the water is flowing again."

Residents should wait until they were officially told by council that it was okay to turn their water back on at the toby, he said.

"Once their supply is restored, all water used for drinking, preparing food and cleaning teeth needs to be boiled until further notice is given that the water is safe to drink. Residents are also being asked to limit water use to essential personal and household activities only."

A boil water notice was in place for Lake Roxburgh Village and residents should continue to conserve water and limit to domestic use only.

Once the water supply had been successfully restored work would begin on reconnecting the sewerage system, he said.

"This is another process that needs to be done carefully and in stages so as not to overload the system. Repairs to pipes and pump stations are in progress, but some damage may not be apparent until the system is live."

Water tankers and portaloos would remain in place around Roxburgh and Lake Roxburgh Village and the community should stay vigilant with good hygiene practices.

State Highway 8 remained closed from the golf course at the south to the pump house station north of the town.

The red bin kerbside collection would happen on Thursday as usual. Residents should not overfill their bins or use them for sludge or greenwaste. Bin lids must close for the truck to be able to pick up the red bin.

"There are now three rubbish skips around town for resident to use when getting rid of large items that were damaged in the flood. We strongly urge residents not to throw any possessions out until they have been in touch with their insurance company and any damage has been assessed. There are two bins at the Baptist Church on Scotland Street and one outside the school."

Any flood debris on individual properties should be piled towards the front of the property for pick up.