Sprinkler ban for Wellington region from midnight Friday

The use of residential sprinklers would be banned in the Wellington region. Photo / File

A ban on home sprinklers and irrigation systems in the Wellington region will take effect from midnight Friday, February 12.

Wellington Water said the ban was due to increasing demand and declining river levels, and would apply to Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Porirua and Wellington regions.

A similar band was being introduced in Martinborough, in line with other Featherston and Greytown in South Wairarapa.

Careful handheld watering was still permitted, but the use of any unattended watering system was banned.

Daily usage had been consistently above the target maximum of 170 million litres over the past week, which would be unsustainable when the water supply is in decline, they said.

Wellington Water chief adviser Laurence Edwards said the relief from a few short showers this week had only been temporary.

"The outlook is for a return to dry weather, and a short burst of rain is unlikely to have a significant long-term effect on demand or river levels."

Drinking water for metropolitan Wellingtonians came from the Waiwhetu aquifer beneath the Hutt Valley, and the rivers in Kaitoke and Wainuiomata catchments.

Supply was boosted by water collected at Te Marua's two lakes when river levels fell, but this needed to last until the end of the dry period.

Wellington Water encouraged residents to use buckets to wash the car, brooms to sweep paths and driveways and handheld watering methods for the garden.

They also asked people to report leaks to the local council to reduce water wastage.