There's lots of water in the Waikato River? Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
With all the stormy weather and heavy rain that has swept through most of the country - including the Waikato - in the past week, you could be forgiven if hot summers and water restrictions were the last things on your mind.
It may even be still raining where you are as you read this. Any mention of water level rules and changing your habits to reduce demand is likely to provoke the usual questions, such as:
● There’s lots of water in the Waikato River - why do we have to save water?
Or:
● Why hasn’t the council built the infrastructure to meet demand?
These and other questions are the same every year and the answers from officialdom are pretty much the same. No doubt the cries of outrage from consumers venting via social media will also be the same if they are told during summer to restrict the hours they may use the garden sprinkler or to not use a hose to wash the car or top up the pool.
What is different this year is that Hamilton City Council and its Smart Water partner councils are working to pre-empt the howls of protest by urging households again to prepare now for the coming season by looking at their water habits now and making lasting changes that could help reduce demand on the region’s water supply.
Smart Water starts with you, is the message that was launched in Hamilton this week a day after thunder rattled the city and a deluge saw damage and surface flooding that stretched the hard-working council response teams.
Smart Water is a partnership between Hamilton City Council, Waipā District Council and Waitomo District Council. It aims to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of water from the source to tap and support schools, organisations and the community to value water and use it in an efficient way.
While some cynicism may be expected from residents and ratepayers, the concern of the councils is genuine. Water use in the Waikato is expected to rise, with the coming summer forecast to be one of the hottest on record for New Zealand.
Waitomo District Council’s Three Waters manager, David Karrol, said that despite the heavy rainfall the Waitomo district has endured this year, it is predicted to be a hot summer, which means an increased demand for water supply.
“Last summer our district reached Alert Level 4 for the first time in a while, with demand outstripping supply. This was particularly the case in Mōkau, where the population increases significantly during the summer season,” he said.
“We do not want a repeat of last summer with prolonged water restrictions, so if everyone can play their part by using water wisely, we can hopefully make a big difference,” Hamilton City Council’s Three Waters unit director, Maire Porter, said.
“We closely monitor water use, weather predictions and trends from previous summers to guide how we manage water in the city. We’ve seen water use slowly increase over the past month and historical trends indicate that with improving weather, the level of water use will only continue to increase throughout summer,” she said.
Waipā District Council’s water services manager, Martin Mould, said that even though alert levels weren’t implemented in Waipā last summer, residents need to get into the mindset that water savings should be a habit, not an afterthought.
“Water is a really precious resource and over summer we see people’s water use spike. Last summer we saw a large increase over January, February, and March, we want people to be mindful of how much water they use and utilise the water-saving tips.”
And what are the councils’ answers to those perennial water problem questions? You will find most answers and many water-saving tips online at smartwater.org.nz. They include these official responses to the two questions raised above:
There’s lots of water in the Waikato River - why do we have to save water?
The water in the Waikato River flows from Lake Taupō. Even though it looks like there is a lot of water, it is not a free-for-all. Councils (along with other river users) can only take a certain amount of water each year from the river and they all have an obligation to ensure that any water taken is used responsibly and wisely. By putting water alerts in place, it means there’s enough water for everyone and it also protects the ecosystems that rely on the Waikato River.
Why hasn’t council built the infrastructure to meet demand?
Building a treatment plant just to cater for three months of the year when more water is needed for lawns and swimming pools is not sustainable and would cost ratepayers millions of dollars. A planned upgrade to Hamilton’s Water Treatment Plant is currently underway as part of the Long Term Plan. Scheduled to be completed by December 2023, this will increase the city’s capacity to treat water and cater for the needs of a growing city. Recently a major upgrade has been completed for Te Awamutu, Pukerimu and Kihikihi areas with additional water being drawn from the Waikato River.
Smart Water’s new and improved website has everyday water saving tips that can make an immediate difference to decreasing water consumption, including to:
Smart Water has an e-newsletter to let you know when your alert level changes. Sign up at smartwater.org.nz/subscribe.
For more water-saving tips, visit smartwater.org.nz.
Mark Hohua, known as Shark, was allegedly beaten to death by fellow gang members in 2022.