Reduce water use, council urges, as hot summer looms

Water use over summer will be carefully watched by Western Bay of Plenty District Council to ensure there is enough for everyone if drought conditions prevail.

Last summer the council was forced to introduce strict water-use restrictions in some parts of the district as reservoirs dropped under the required minimum level for daily demand.

Council utilities manager Kelvin Hill says NIWA has advised that a hot and humid summer is forecast, so the council team will be keeping a watchful eye on the district’s water use — as will most councils across the country, due to the low winter rainfall.

The council’s drinking water is sourced from deep underground aquifers in three water zones: Western Zone (Waihi Beach and Katikati), Central Zone (Omokoroa, Te Puna and Minden) and Eastern Zone (Te Puke, Maketu¯ ).

Signage to monitoring water levels in council reservoirs have been put at the entrances to Waihi Beach, Athenree, Maketu, Omokoroa and Te Puke and will serve as a reminder over summer to be careful with water use and conserve wherever possible.

Reservoirs must maintain a constant 50 per cent minimum water level to meet the daily demands for drinking water.

“Every year we have more holidaymakers here and we are expecting even more this year in light of Covid-19 overseas travel restrictions,” says Kelvin Hill.

“We consistently promote a strong ‘conserve’ water message and I believe that people generally have a greater understanding of the importance of careful water use. We hope that by getting the message out early this year about the possibility of a drier summer, our residents will do their bit to conserve water and we will avoid bringing in restrictions.

“Water is a precious resource that we need to value and use efficiently.”

Some simple ways to reduce water consumption over summer are:

■ A quick shower (maximum four minutes)

■ Instead of letting the shower water pour down the drain while you wait for it to warm up, capture the water in a bucket. Then use the water for flushing the toilet or watering your plants.

■ Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.

■ Use a bucket of water to wash your car.

■ Turn off the tap while washing your hands.

■ If it’s yellow, let it mellow. Do you need to flush every time?

■ Fix your leaks. Dripping taps and little leaks waste a lot of water.

■ Keep water in a covered container in the fridge. It saves running the tap to get cold water.

■ Water the garden in the cool of the morning or evening.

■ Let your lawn grow a little longer. It will stay greener and need less watering.

■ Use a bowl to scrub vegetables in the kitchen sink. Put the used water on the lawn.