Rain coming but Auckland dams still very thirsty: Watercare

Mangatangi Dam in the Hūnua Ranges on June 11. Photo / Simon Runting

Heavy rain might have helped bump up Auckland's water reserves recently but our dams are still looking "thirsty", authorities say.

There has been about one-quarter less rainfall in the city's catchment areas compared to a normal year since November 2019, according to Watercare.

That leaves overall dam storage at 55.35 per cent full.

Normally the dams would be about 80 per cent full at the start of July.

That's Mangatangi Dam on Thurs. Right, straight into the daily water usage stats. Remember, our daily target is 409,000m3. Yesterday, AKL used 404,248m3 and the 7-day rolling avg is looking good at 400,956m3. Nice one - let's keep both figures below 409 this weekend.#save20akl pic.twitter.com/SdN1WbOm0B

— Watercare (@watercare_nz) July 3, 2020

It means Aucklanders need to continue to strive to save water, Watercare says.

The news isn't all bad, however.

There has been 59mm of rainfall on the Hūnua Ranges in the city's east in the past seven days and 97mm in the Waitākere Ranges in the west.

More rain is expected to develop tomorrow afternoon and continue through next week in both the Hūnua and Waitākere Ranges, weather forecaster MetService says.

Aucklanders have also been meeting water-saving targets in the past few days.

Watercare has set a target for Auckland to use a daily total of 409 million litres or less.

That's Mangatawhiri Dam in the Hūnuas yesterday. It's one of our biggest dams and to be honest it still looks pretty thirsty. Here's an interesting fact for your Friday - after the recent downpours Mangatawhiri's storage went up by only one metre.#save20akl pic.twitter.com/qheQqWO1cq

— Watercare (@watercare_nz) July 2, 2020

City residents yesterday used 404 million litres; the seven-day rolling average is 400 million litres.

Watercare is continuing to push the message for people to use less water when carrying out various tasks - including when taking a shower and brushing teeth.

The authority has been regularly posting funny memes alongside encouraging messages via its social media sites, including Twitter.

"Save 20 [litres], save 20, we say! 'How do I do that', you say? Well, here goes.

"Spend a minute less in the shower and you'll save 12L. Turn the tap off when you brush your teeth twice a day - save a total of 8L.

"That's 20L saved in one day - and repeat."