Use our water carefully

It was very welcome yesterday morning to have breakfast while looking out the kitchen windows at something I hadn't seen for more than a month: Rain.

The early showers were barely enough to wet the ground, but it gathered momentum into a decent dumping of water by lunchtime, which would have given my dry and shrivelled garden a good soaking.

I gave up trying to keep the garden alive a few weeks ago - the only edibles that have survived are the tomatoes, with their Mediterranean constitution, but everything else has withered away.

But I'm sure watching your home garden die is nothing compared to watching your livelihood dry up before your eyes.

Farmers in Wairarapa yesterday were saying the rain received was helpful, but not enough to break the drought.

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In Wairarapa's towns the water crisis is not as urgent as that facing Wellington city - where a strict outdoor water ban is now in place.

Our town water supplies, which largely come from rivers, are coping with demand, and yesterday's downpour would also have helped.

But the drought is a good reminder for those of us who don't live off the land that we still need to be mindful of our water use.

This would be a good time to take a quick look around the house and garden and check whether you can make any savings. Greater Wellington has some good tips on www.gw.govt.nz/use-a-bit-less-water-inside