29 October 2010
Summer water restrictions begin in Waipa District on Monday, November 1, with the use of sprinklers limited to alternative dates.
Waipa District Council’s manager water services Bob Shaw said the coming New Zealand summer will be influenced by the La Niña weather pattern, bringing warm, dry and sunny conditions. That puts pressure on the district’s water reserves.
He said that at peak times, on average the district uses 36.9 million litres of water every day. Last year, reserves got down to concerning levels and Council was forced to extend sprinkler restrictions to May 2010.
“For our water reserves to last the summer, everyone needs to reduce their water use now. Ideally, we’d like to see this figure down to 31.3 million litres per day,” Mr Shaw said.
To reduce water use, Council has initiated a water alert level one which restricts the use of sprinkler systems to alternative dates on the odds and evens system.
People living at addresses with an odd street number can use sprinklers on dates ending in an odd number, and people living at addresses with an even street number can use sprinklers on dates ending in an even number.
Council’s water alerts run from level one to three with restrictions ranging from sprinkler and hose restrictions to full bans on all external water use for urban, rural, non-residential and commercial properties.
Mr Shaw said while Council would do everything it could to ensure the district’s water supply lasts the summer, they needed everyone to get behind the effort. Ultimately it was up to individuals to use their household and business water effectively, he said.
He said a water conservation campaign using local newspapers and Council’s website would run from November to February 2011, to ensure residents knew what water alerts were in place and what they could do to help reduce their water usage.
“If weather conditions become very hot and very dry, and we don’t see an immediate decrease in the district’s water use of around four per cent, we’ll be forced to consider introducing further restrictions,” Mr Shaw said.
“If things get bad, we’ll hit water alert level three, and that means a complete restriction on non-essential water use including all hoses, sprinklers, swimming pool filling and out door cleaning activities.”
For more information, please contact:
Jacqui Humm. Ph: 07 872 0062 or 027 532 1760.
Email: Jacqui.humm@waipadc.govt.nz