Gisborne District Council imposes sprinkler restrictions

A Gisborne Council spokesperson said that during the evenings, water usage could spike as high as 1.5 million litres an hour — significantly exceeding the city’s water production rate. Photo / NZME

Gisborne District Council has introduced restrictions on sprinklers from today.

The “level 2″ restrictions limit sprinkler use to between 6am and 8am, with handheld hosing to be kept to a minimum.

The restrictions are to curb high evening water demand caused by hot temperatures and minimal rain forecast for the rest of the month.

Council drinking water manager Judith Robertson said that during the evenings, water usage could spike as high as 1.5 million litres an hour — significantly exceeding the city’s water production rate and rapidly depleting storage reservoirs.

“We’ve started the Waipaoa water treatment plant but without rain in the Waipaoa River catchment, this water source may soon not be available to help supplement the city’s water supply.”

Waipaoa River catchment intake water levels pictured Monday. Waipaoa River flows are dropping towards the cut-off limits. Gisborne District Council introduced sprinkler restrictions on Wednesday.

Waipaoa River flows are dropping toward cut-off limits.

Robertson reminded city water users it was important everyone worked to conserve water.

“These restrictions are necessary to help balance the high evening demand for water. We need to save water now to ensure we have enough to get through the rest of the summer.”

For more information on water level restrictions, visit the council website.