South Taranaki imposes water restrictions amid dry conditions; fire risk warning issued

Water restrictions are in place in South Taranaki from January 18. Photo / Bevan Conley

A dry start to summer has led to temporary water restrictions in South Taranaki.

The South Taranaki District Council has announced restrictions will be in place from January 18.

“We are now in the position of needing to implement these partial restrictions to ensure that we have enough drinking water to go around and protect the health of our streams and rivers,” South Taranaki District Council infrastructure services group manager Herbert Denton said.

The restrictions include an odds and evens system where, on odd-numbered days, residents of odd-numbered houses can use hand-held hoses after 6pm, alternating with even-numbered days and even-numbered houses.

“Residents need to limit non-essential water use wherever possible,” Denton said.

“All water savings can make a difference.”

Other recommended ways to conserve water include substituting baths for short showers, fixing leaks, using dishwashers and washing machines on full loads only, and reducing the frequency of washing cars and boats.

According to Niwa, South Taranaki’s rainfall has been below average since October, leading to the dry ground conditions.

The cumulative rainfall between October 13 and January 12 in South Taranaki was 270mm, more than 100mm below the median.

An increase in rainfall is expected over the next month with South Taranaki forecast to have wetter-than-normal conditions between January 20 to February 3 and February 10 to 17, according to Niwa’s weekly rainfall forecast.

This is the second unusually dry summer in a row for South Taranaki.

In late March 2024, with six other regions, the Government gave South Taranaki drought support after a medium-scale adverse event classification.

On January 16, Fire and Emergency New Zealand warned of fire risk in South Taranaki because of warm, windy conditions heading into the weekend.

“While we haven’t met the triggers for entering a restricted fire season (where a permit is needed for any open-air fire), caution should still be taken with the windy conditions,” Taranaki community risk manager Christine McGinty said.

People should visit checkitsalright.nz before lighting any open-air fire.

Olivia Reid is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.