UPDATED: Three hours after stating it would take up to five days to get the second pump at the Darwin River Dam pump station restored, Power and Water announced it has managed to get the second pump connected to a generator, with water use reductions no longer needed. The boil water alert remains in place.

Power and Water issued a statement Wednesday to say it had one pump back online, which it called “a great first step”, but that water consumption needed to be lowered.

That is no longer the case, a spokesperson confirmed, with requests for water conservation ending.

NT Health still has a precautionary boil water order in place, which will remain until tests of the water confirm it is safe to consume. The first results of the water testing could be returned tomorrow “around noon”, but if it shows contamination, more testing could be required with the order remaining in place for another day or two, NT Health said.

Power and Water acting chief executive John Pease said 54 people were “dedicated to bringing” the dam pump station back online, with the “good news” being that some water from the dam was being used in the water tank as of 12:30pm.

“The bad news is, or the unfortunate news is, consumption is still exceeding the amount of supply we’re getting,” he said then, adding it could take up to five days to get a second pump operating, which required water conservation efforts to continue.

But Power and Water said just before 4pm that it had connected the second pump, which would be enough to meet the demand as the company continues to get the other two pumps back online.

“In a truly amazing effort that has been made by the team out there, they’ve now managed to connect a second pump to the temporary genset,” Mr Pease told ABC Radio.

“With two running, we’re confident we’re producing enough water so we’re above the level of our average level of consumption in the wet season. The immediate risk has passed.”

But Mr Pease had said earlier at the press conference that the plan was to connect the second pump to a proper power source, rather than a generator. It remains unclear when all four pumps will be working properly and when the generator will no longer be needed.

Two rural bore fields were brought online to help after the pump station shut down on Monday, but that also led to the boil water alert, as they are near septic tanks in the rural area.

The boil water order could be lifted by tomorrow, NT Health said, or if the test results show contamination, it would have to be tested again in 18 to 24 hours, meaning the alert would continue.