Water restrictions applying in Whakatāne and Ōhope have been reduced to Level 1 – voluntary conservation. That means the restrictions on hose and sprinkler use have been lifted, but the Whakatāne District Council is still asking people in Whakatāne and Ōhope to take voluntary conservation measures, to keep consumption at a reasonable level.

The major influence on the need for restrictions is the flow rate in the Whakatāne River, which was running at 119 cubic metres per second this morning. While that’s well above the level that would see salt water intrusion limiting the water treatment intake for the Whakatāne and Ōhope communities, the flow rate is dropping fast, virtually halving in the last 24 hours alone. Council 3 Waters staff will continue to closely monitor river conditions and will take a proactive approach to water restrictions, as required.

Some simple ways to conserve water are:

• Bucket-wash cars or boats, if possible
• Don’t refill or top-up swimming pools
• If you know you have leaking taps, fix them now
• If you see a leaking water line, report it to the Council as soon as possible
• Flush toilets sparingly
• Avoid using your bath and cut your shower time down as much as possible
• While waiting for hot water to flow through to showers or taps, catch the unused water in a bucket for use in washing machines or for other purposes.