Waikato severely drier than normal with drought likely

There is plenty of water in the Waikato River, but we have to stay within our water take consent and our water processing plant is operating at maximum. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism

With record water consumption across the city, Hamilton today moved to water alert level three, meaning sprinkler use is banned.

The move to level three comes as the city broke its own record for most water used in a day, despite being at level two.

City council waters unit manager Emily Botje says people weren't taking the "save water" message seriously.

Despite some recent rain, the return to dry, hot sunny days has seen water demand increase.

According to the latest NIWA soil moisture data, most of the Waikato region is considered 'severely drier than normal', with drought conditions likely.

Sprinkler use is now banned in Hamilton. Photo / Duncan Brown

On Tuesday, January 18, nearly 91 million litres of water was used by Hamilton's 60,000 households and businesses. That works out on average to more than 10 bathtubs full of water per household, per day — the highest consumption day on record.

"It is critical we reduce our overall water usage now – as our network is already under extreme pressure.

"Above all, we want to make sure everyone is doing their part to ensure there's always enough water to go around, and water alert levels help us manage that."

At water alert level three, sprinklers are not allowed to be used. Handheld hosing is still allowed at any time.

Matamata-Piako District has also moved up to water alert level 3 because its water supply systems are working at full capacity as well.

The district-wide sprinkler ban is in place for all water supply consumers including Te Aroha, Matamata, Morrinsville, Te Poi, Tahuna, Waharoa and Hinuera.

The council's water and waste water manager Karl Pavlovich urges residents to think twice about the water they're using, even if it's a permitted activity. "In a dry summer lawns naturally turn brown, and it's a good excuse to not wash the car as often."

Residents are urged to consider using less water particularly outside for gardens, on grassed areas, in pools, and when washing vehicles. Photo / Dean Purcell

The long range forecast from NIWA indicates long periods of dry, warm weather continuing.

"It will take a fair amount of rain to replenish our water supplies. We need everyone to conserve as much water as possible so we can get through the coming months... No substantial rainfall is predicted so we're taking a precautionary approach by moving to level 3 water restrictions," Pavlovich said.

Over the coming days all council garden watering systems will be turned off, and the hanging baskets in Morrinsville will come down.

During Matamata-Piako's level 3 restrictions watering can only be done by hand on alternate days between the hours of 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm. Sprinklers, garden irrigation systems, unattended hoses, unnecessary water blasting and other water use is banned.

Hamilton City Council waters compliance staff are travelling around the city, monitoring usage, and notifying water wasters via letterbox drop. Concerned residents can also notify Council when they see someone breaking the rules through the Smart Water website, at smartwater.org.nz/report/.

The Smart Water starts with you! sub-regional summer campaign aims to make long-term change to how we use water. The initiative is a joint venture between Hamilton City Council, Waipā District Council and Waitomo District Council.

This high-use day was also not a one-off, with the top three highest daily figures recorded last week across Sunday (88.42 million litres), Monday (88.92 million litres), and Tuesday (90.84 million litres).

"The amount of water that we are currently using is alarming," Botje said. "Hamilton is just about at the maximum sustainable level of water processing that our plant is able to provide.

"We strongly urge residents to reduce the amount of water they are using, particularly outdoors, because there is extraordinary pressure on our network right now and we want to make sure we all continue to have enough in the coming weeks and months.

"At the same time, we recognise there are plenty of people who are doing the right thing, and we'd like to thank those Hamiltonians for their efforts."

Last month, council released figures showing residents of the city's northern suburbs were using disproportionately more water compared to other parts of the city.

Only about half of the water used by the city ends up at the Pukete wastewater treatment plant, indicating there can sometimes be up to 45 million litres of water being used to water lawns and gardens and top up swimming pools on the city's hottest days.

Matamata-Piako is turning off all council garden watering systems and the hanging baskets in Morrinsville will come down. Photo / Christine Cornege

Households in areas such as Flagstaff, Rototuna, Rototuna North, Huntington, St James Park and Harrowfield had been using between 500 and 600 litres a day — which is 200 litres a day more than suburbs such as Dinsdale.

Residents were urged to consider using less water particularly outside for gardens, on grassed areas, in pools, and when washing vehicles.

The Smart Water restrictions have a strong focus on outdoor water use because although Hamilton's water use spikes during the hotter months, data suggests that a large proportion of water used by Hamiltonians is used outside.

"We can't infinitely take, there are limits to this resource. We all have a responsibility to ensure we're doing all we can to save water," said Botje.

For more tips on how you can be smart with water, visit smartwater.org.nz.