Rain welcome but water restrictions remain for now

Yesterday’s rain has been welcomed by people across the increasingly parched NelsonTasman region.

However, Tasman District Council engineering services manager Richard Kirby, who is responsible for the council’s reticulated water supply, said decisions on restrictions would wait until this morning.

In the 12 hours to noon yesterday, 16mm of rain fell in Richmond and on the Waimea Plains, 18.5mm at Founders Park in Nelson and 34.5mm at the TakakaKotinga measuring site.

Members of the Tasman Dry Weather Task Force were due to meet yesterday evening and would discuss the effect of the rain and what abstraction limits were required for water permit holders including the council for its reticulated supply.

The rain came as the team at Richmond Aquatic Centre started complying with the phase B restrictions, which meant the pools could not be topped up.

The phase B restrictions that took effect on Monday apply to households, businesses and public organisations using the reticulated water supply in Richmond, Hope, Brightwater, Redwood Valley, Eighty-Eight Valley, Dovedale and Ma¯ pua-Ruby Bay. Watering lawns, filling or topping up pools or using water for play activities is banned.

Users of the reticulated water supply at Wakefield and Tapawera face phase A restrictions, which means they can still top up pools, and wash buildings and cars.

Other water permit holders face a range of rationing measures, from a cease take in the Dove River and Moutere Surface zones to stage-two rationing (a 35 per cent cut in water take) in the Motupiko zone.