Dannevirke's water crisis stable but water restrictions still in place

Dannevirke's water shortage is currently stable but water restrictions remain in place which means no hosing or use of sprinklers.Photo / File

The water situation in Dannevirke is holding, Dannevirke Community Board members were told at a meeting on Monday.

Tararua District Council chief executive Blair King updated the board on the district's critical water situation which he described as currently being stable.

"We are managing to meet the demand from our supplies."

Earlier in the day the council issued an updated press release which said while stable was good, it was not guaranteed to continue and so the council was continuing to operate a dedicated response team and would provide updates as new information became available.

King said the Horizons Regional Council had been working with the council and provided a wide range of support and advice.

The council had also been working with Dannevirke's two largest companies, Alliance and Canterbury Spinners, to reduce water usage.

"Alliance has agreed to cut down to four days a week, this week and next week, but will still run double shifts."

He said this would free up a huge amount of water for the residential use.

Rest homes wouldn't be affected as they come under human health, he said.

The small amount of rain over the weekend had very little impact overall, however, water usage has dropped significantly since the beginning of this event and the impounded reservoir (or "dam") is slowly refilling.

King said rain was predicted today and again early next week.

"If that rain comes through the Dannevirke water supply can hold and we will have enough of a buffer to get through."

King said Woodville had 35 days' supply of water in its impounded reservoir.Norsewood had been using more water than the allowable take from the bore.

"We met with members of the Norsewood community last week and we were overwhelmed with the support we received. The community has agreed to work with the council to conserve as much water as possible to avoid the need for more severe water restrictions in their area."

Pahiatua, Woodville, Eketahuna, Pongaroa and Akitio were assured that the council was keeping a close eye on the water supplies for these areas.

"These towns are currently managing reasonably well and we will provide an update on these if anything changes."

King thanked the community for the work they are doing in conserving water.

Community board chairman Pat Walshe asked if people who were blatantly ignoring the water restrictions were being spoken to.

King said it was obvious that some people were still using hoses to water their gardens.

"We are speaking to people. We can prosecute residential water users, but generally we are saying by using your hose you are undoing the good work of your neighbours. The enforcement side is a last resort.

"If rain doesn't eventuate we will continue rationing what we have while still trying to keep businesses going."

The council sent letters out to Dannevirke businesses last week stating that if there was no significant rain over the next two weeks the council would have to escalate water restrictions to essential use only - that is for drinking, cooking and hygiene.

"Given that every litre of water counts at this critical time I ask you to consider whether you may be able to find ways to alter current business operations in an effort to conserve water. This could include delaying processes that utilise a lot of water where possible or even reducing hours or days of operation," the letter said.

The council said the business and farming communities have been understanding and co-operative and were keen to do everything they could to help.

It had also had an offer of help from the Palmerston North City Council which has agreed to provide up to 1000 cubic metres of water a day if called upon to.

*Anyone needing to report an issue or who has a question should contact us on 06 374 4080 or 06 376 0110," Walshe said.