Outdoor water use banned
No hope of substantial rain on the horizon has forced MatamataPiako to join Waipa¯ in a complete outdoor water ban.
Morrinsville is the first town in the district to move into the red zone with a total ban on outdoor watering, but if the dry conditions don’t improve Te Aroha and Matamata could join them, council says.
The level four water ban comes into effect today and means a total ban on all outdoor water use including hand held hoses, garden and lawn sprinklers and irrigation systems, and water blasters until further notice. Car washing, hosing and pool top-ups are also banned.
Morrinsville rose grower Mike Roach said his flowers are dying and so are his sales as a result of the dry conditions.
As the largest rose grower in Northern Waikato, Roach’s Nurseries has more than 150 different varieties of roses, selling mainly to corporate garden stores.
Over this dry period, however, his clientele has been very minimal.
‘‘The roses are all depleted, they look disgusting and it’s because we can’t put more water on them,’’ Roach said.
‘‘People also won’t buy roses if they don’t have flowers on them.’’
He said he would normally water his roses once a day for about an hour, going through 8000 litres a day.
Fortunately, his land has a water tank connected to an underground bore, but he said if that runs out he will have nothing.
‘‘It’s hard to reduce because we actually need more water in these conditions than any other time to keep the business going.’’
Morrinsville bowls green keeper Trevor Lingard said outdoor sports clubs are also feeling the heat.
Lingard manages both bowling greens in Morrinsville as well as several greens in Te Aroha and Matamata.
He said the ban on outdoor watering, could mean the bowling and croquet club have to resow their lawns, costing about $10,000.
‘‘If we have to stop watering the bowling greens and it dies out, we will probably be looking at having to redo them again and most clubs can’t afford that,’’ Lingard said.
He said since Morrinsville has had a little bit of rain he’s been watering every second night.
‘‘We can probably struggle along for another two or three weeks.
‘‘If it gets too bad the clubs might have to tanker in water, which some clubs can’t do.’’
Fiona Vessey, Council’s Group Manager Service Delivery, said Morrinsville moving to level four is a preventive measure.
‘‘This is a precaution, so we can continue to supply everyone with water for essential indoor use,’’ Vessey said.
She said while the district did get some rain in the last few days, it hasn’t been enough to make a big difference to the levels at the Morrinsville reservoir.
‘‘Morrinsville got 17mm of rain over the weekend, but the reservoir is currently dropping approximately 210mm per week, which means the rain we did get has already been used.’’
We have removed the hanging baskets throughout the CBD, turned off irrigation systems to garden beds and we are meeting regularly with industry who have been actively reducing their water use as much as possible.
Vessey said residents could do their part by not using water outside and finding ways to conserve water inside. They can also report outdoor water use.
Matamata and Te Aroha remain in Level 3 water restrictions. Current restrictions will be assessed each week and both Matamata and Te Aroha residents should be prepared to move to Level four in the coming weeks if current weather conditions continue.
‘‘The roses are all depleted, they look disgusting and it’s because we can’t put more water on them.’’