Water restrictions flow as fire ban looms
‘‘As long as you use a hand-held hose, you can still wash buildings and cars and water your plants and vege gardens.’’
Dennis Bush-King
Stage-one water restrictions for a swath of the Waimea Plains along with a fire ban across the NelsonTasman region are due to come into force from Monday as more hot, dry weather is forecast.
The Tasman Dry Weather Taskforce decided this week to bring in the first water rationing of the summer after a run of hot and windy weather with no rain on the horizon.
‘‘We are confident that the triggers for restrictions in the Wairoa River at the gorge will be reached in the coming days,’’ said taskforce convener Dennis BushKing.
The stage-one restrictions – a 20 per cent cut in use of consented take levels – will apply to water users in the Upper Catchment, Reservoir, Waimea West, Delta, Golden Hills and the Upper Confined Aquifer zones on the Waimea Plains. Stage-one restrictions will also be in place for the Motupiko zone.
Urban households on the Richmond reticulated supply were urged to conserve water.
‘‘Under the new Water Supply Bylaw, from Monday... in the Richmond residential reticulated area (Residential Phase A), you will not be permitted to fill swimming pools. However, they can be topped up,’’ Bush-King said.
‘‘Watering lawns is not allowed but as long as you use a hand-held hose, you can still wash buildings and cars and water your plants and vege gardens.’’
Water users in the Lower Confined Aquifer and Hope Gravel zones would have another week before rationing was likely to apply.
Restrictions may also need to be considered for Golden Bay and Riwaka at the next weekly meeting of the taskforce, he said.
The conditions have also prompted Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) to declare a prohibited fire season from Monday across the increasingly parched region.
Principal rural fire officer Ian Reade said with recent hot temperatures and wind sapping the moisture from the ground, the region was ‘‘crisping up quite quickly’’. Good grass growth over spring, which had since dried out, meant there were high fuel loadings in parts of the region.
Reade urged people planning any activity that could cause a spark – such as mowing a lawn or using a chainsaw – to do so in the early morning or evening.
The fire risk has also prompted Tasman District Council to recommend people use the district’s reserves in the early mornings or evenings only.
Tasman Pine Forests chief operating officer Steve Chandler said the fire danger in the company’s forests had moved into ‘‘code yellow’’ with FENZ predicting that if there was no rain over next two weeks ‘‘it’s likely we will be in extreme conditions by end of first week in February’’.
‘‘We have put signage up in our Moutere North forests to restrict motorcycle and hunting activities, but if conditions continue as predicted we will be working with FENZ and local authorities to increase forest access restrictions over the next few weeks,’’ Chandler said.
MetService meteorologist Andy Best outlined an expected run of hot, dry weather over the next week. ‘‘It’s not too bad for the population but it isn’t good in terms of rainfall,’’ Best said.
Temperatures were tipped to rise, often accompanied by northerly winds. The weekend, especially, was predicted to be hot and dry, hitting 29 degrees tomorrow.
‘‘It’s not going to be very pleasant at night either, only getting down to 20 degrees,’’ Best said.
Sunday was also expected to be a scorcher, reaching 28 degrees before dropping to 27 on Monday and 26 on Tuesday.
‘‘It’s a consequence of those northerly winds,’’ Best said.