Water restrictions not all bad news

Sprinklers can only be used between 6-8am and 6-8pm in Waipā from today, as the district has moved into water restriction level one. Recent rain has not been enough to alleviate the dry, hot summer conditions, and average water usage in the district has reached the trigger level of 80 percent of the amount produced by our treatment plants over 24 hours.

But it isn’t all bad news for people in Waipā wanting to keep their gardens growing. While level one restrictions have set times for sprinklers, you’re welcome to use handheld hoses anytime. The restrictions only apply to outdoor water use.

Water services manager Karl Pavlovich said moving to level one restrictions will prevent the district from having to move to more stringent restrictions should the dry weather continue for much longer.

“Water meters have been a huge help in Waipā reducing water demand over recent years, but alone they can no longer solve the problem of increased demand during a prolonged dry period,” he said.

“It isn’t a matter of how much people pay for water, or if we’ve had a few millimetres of rain, it’s about how much our treatment plants can produce in 24 hours compared to what is being consumed.

“Summer is when our water use is highest, and our supply rivers are at their lowest. Our treatment plants are permitted to produce only so much every day, and there is only a certain amount of water we can take from our rivers.”

Pavlovich said building good habits around water use is easy for everyone. “It’s the little actions such as turning off the tap while brushing your teeth or cleaning vegetables, or watering gardens only once or twice a week, that will help us share this precious resource so there is enough for everyone.”

You can find more information and tips to be smart with water on the water alert levels page on our website