Tough water restrictions end for Northland’s Dargaville and Baylys Beach

Sprinklers are once again allowed in Dargaville and Baylys Beach with all water restrictions lifted by Kaipara District Council.

Tough water restrictions in Dargaville and nearby Baylys Beach have evaporated thanks to steady rain.

Kaipara District Council yesterday lifted all water restrictions for the area, saying much-needed rainfall has resulted in significant water flows over the Kaihu weir and near-normal rainfall is predicted for April.

The town and beachside community had been on level four water restrictions, the toughest level of restrictions, which ban all outdoor water use. It also meant homes on rainwater tanks were unable to get a top-up from town supplies.

The restrictions in Dargaville and Baylys Beach began in December with a sprinkler ban.

The change this week removes all restrictions, which means homes and businesses on town supply can use water sensibly, without restriction.

Last week, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced a $17.5 million loan for Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust to build a 22km pipeline from its Glinks Gully reservoir to Dargaville.

The 3.3 million cubic metre Te Waihekeora Reservoir was completed last year at Redhill and the pipeline will relieve pressure on the municipal water supply in the Dargaville area, said trust chairman Murray McCully.

However, water is not expected to flow from the pipeline until the summer of 2026 to 2027, with the physical work starting this summer and expected to take about a year.

The council and the trust will combine the pipeline work with the delivery of an upgrade to the Dargaville to Te Kōpuru stopbank, which previously received $7.8m from the Regional Infrastructure Fund’s flood resilience funding.

As well as relieving the council water supply, the pipeline will allow irrigation between Te Kōpuru and Dargaville – opening the door to higher-value land use – and provide water to Silver Fern Farm’s processing plant in Dargaville.

In ending the water restrictions, council chief executive Jason Marris acknowledged residents for their water-saving efforts.

“Everyone’s efforts during these restrictions have made a massive difference – thank you for conserving this precious resource so that our community had enough water to get through.”

Over the 27 days that level-four restrictions were in place, residents reduced their daily water use by 161,000 litres on average, compared to level-three water use. This amounts to 4.4 million litres saved, he said.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.