A city wide sprinkler and irrigation system ban begins today. Photo / File
A city wide sprinkler and irrigation system ban begins today at 12pm.
In a statement, Tauranga City Council said the ban comes due to a combination of low flow levels in the streams that supply Tauranga's water and the increasing high water demand the city is experiencing.
Residents and businesses
are asked to stop using all sprinklers and irrigation systems until further notice.
Residents can continue to water their gardens, by hand-held hose or watering can, at the cooler times of day, between 5am and 8am and from 7pm to 10pm.
Director of City Waters Stephen Burton said water usage started climbing steeply in the past 10 days.
"A good amount of rain in November and early December has tided us over until now, but with water usage up and stream levels this low, we're now forced to implement restrictions.
"We have not seen stream levels this low. Rainfall for Tauranga is down about 30 per cent compared to average annual rainfall, making our region much drier than normal," he said.
