Dannevirke: Hose ban after water levels fall

The Tamaki River at the Rua Roa weir is the source of water for Dannevirke, but is barely flowing as high temperatures and a lack of rain dry up streams and rivers. Photo / Christine McKay

Hot weather with temperatures as high as 30C and no rain has left water levels dangerously low in some areas of the Tararua.

The Tararua District Council has imposed a total hose ban in Woodville as water levels in the Mangapapa Stream fall drastically.

The council's resource consent water take is approaching the low flow cut off levels and, because of a lack of rain, the local authority has put the ban in place until it rains.

Garden sprinklers, unattended water systems, soak hoses and hand-held hoses cannot be used. There is to be no cleaning of cars, washing houses or windows or refilling of swimming pools as the council struggles to conserve water.

With no significant rain for sometime, residents reliant on tank water are keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for rain.

Doug Scott, of Ormondville, is currently measuring the water in his tank in inches as he prays for rain and tries to conserve what water he has left.

A Woodville lifestyle block owner is getting by thanks to two large water tanks, but her supply is low and she's conserving water by doing her washing at her parents' home in Pahiatua.

But Nikki O'Leary said on the hot days it was the amount of water her stock were drinking which was causing concern.

" I don't have many cows, sheep and horses really but they are using a lot," she said.

"They have to drink my tank water as the creek running through my place is fenced off as it is too steep for stock to get down to the water because they can't get back up."

In Dannevirke on Monday afternoon, the temperature had risen to a record-breaker for March - 30C at 3pm. But there is some relief on the horizon with MetService predicting rain for Saturday.

At Norsewood, local weather-watcher Lyn McConchie said the February rainfall total was 54mm.

"Although it's within the average for February, when combined with January's total, it's the lower end of the two-month period," she said.

"It's not a drought but certainly a dry beginning to the year."