Water shortage serious, residents told

It may appear endless, but Thames-Coromandel residents are being reminded that water is not a finite resource.

With a total watering ban in Coromandel Town, Whitianga and Hahei, and other restrictions throughout the rest of the district, council is encouraging residents to comply, lest they get hit with a fine.

‘‘Our streams are a finite resource; they are not never-ending,’’ Mayor Sandra Goudie said.

‘‘This is one of the driest seasons we’ve had in many, many years . . . and I don’t think we’ve had very much rain to speak of since November, so it really is simple when you connect the dots.’’

A meteorological drought has been declared for the top half of the Coromandel, from Whitianga north, with no significant rain on the horizon. A total watering ban means that all use of water outside the house is banned. This includes watering lawns and gardens, washing cars, boats, houses, and decks, filling paddling pools and playing under sprinklers.

‘‘With local water supplies at their lowest levels for many years, and scientific evidence of ongoing dry conditions, we are now heading towards a serious situation with our water across the peninsula, which means everyone will be required to take care and do their best to conserve water.

‘‘It is a luxury to clean the boat this time of year; it is a luxury to have a sprinkler on your lawn. But I think if you’ve got a vegetable garden, that’s quite important, and certainly for hygiene purposes it’s important, but it doesn’t do any harm to keep a little bit dirty for a day or two extra,’’ Goudie said.

Council would look to prosecute those who continuously breached water restrictions. People can be convicted and fined up to $20,000 for breaching the bylaw.

Where possible, council’s parks and reserves staff throughout the district have also been using greywater when watering plants on council land.

Staff use treated water from wastewater treatment plants at Whitianga, Pauanui and Whangamata.

Council uses around 7000 litres per week from the Pauanui plant, 10,000 litres per week from Whangamata, and on average about 20,000 litres per week from the Whitianga wastewater treatment plant, which also services parks and reserves through the Mercury Bay area as well as Coromandel Town.

‘‘There was a time when Auckland was reliant on just the water supply from the Hunua Ranges, but it came to the point where that too didn’t have the volume of water that would meet Auckland’s needs, so they then had to secure a deal using water out of the Waikato River.