By ANNE-MARIE EMERSON
RESIDENTS of Wanganui and South Taranaki seem to be getting the message about water restrictions, with both councils reporting a recent decrease in water consumption.
Partial water restrictions came into effect in South Taranaki in mid-November, and in Wanganui a month later.
Rick Grobecker, deputy infrastructure manager at the Wanganui District Council, said demand for water in the city dropped "almost immediately" after the council advertised restrictions were in place.
November 2007 saw the highest water usage in Wanganui for any month in the past 10 years.
Neil McCann, group manager of engineering services at the South Taranaki, said there appeared to be a "small drop" in consumption recently.
"We can't really say if its because people are taking notice of the water restrictions, but I hope so."
Mr McCann said the milk production season had seen the rural supply schemes under considerable pressure.
He said the council was keeping a close watch on Waimate West, where water draw-off from streams was running particularly high.
Neither councils have formal policing for water restrictions.
Mr McCann said the South Taranaki District Council relied on members of the public to report breaches of the restrictions.
He was unsure how many reports had been made.
"We had someone call us because their neighbour had gone away on holiday and had left their garden sprinkler going."
He said all reports were followed up with a visit to the property by a council officer.
Mr Grobecker said he was not aware of anyone reporting breaches of water restrictions in Wanganui.
Both men said yesterday's rain was welcome, but much more was needed before water restrictions could be lifted.
Mr McCann said people should not become complacent about water usage because of the rain, especially as warm and dry conditions were expected for the weekend.
"Weather predictions suggest a continuing dry January and February, so we need people to be sensible about using water."
Water restriction message getting through
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