Hose and sprinkler use has now been restricted for consumers drawing water from the Whakatāne and Ōhope water supply schemes.

As from Wednesday 9 April, hose and sprinkler use is restricted to two hours in the early morning and evening on every second day for all consumers. That will mean the occupants of households with even street numbers (such as 6 or 22) can only water their gardens on even days of the month, between 6:00 am and 8:00 am and between 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm. People living in households with odd street numbers (such as 17 or 33) can only water during the same hours on odd days of the month.

The need for the water use restrictions has been driven by the falling river flow in the Whakatāne River, which means that salinity is traveling well past the Whakatāne Treatment Station water intake on every high tide.

Whakatāne District Council General Manager Infrastructure, Tomasz Krawczyk, says the recently-completed extension to the station’s emergency intake, which draws water from approximately 1 km further upstream, has allowed enough water to be treated to keep up with demand. “The continued drop in the river flow has changed that situation, however, and in recent days, salinity at the emergency intake has forced us to stop pumping water to the treatment station for up to five hours a day, around high tides,” he explains. “We therefore think it’s prudent to move to Level 2 of our three-stage water restrictions programme, because voluntary reductions haven’t reduced usage in the Whakatāne and Ōhope schemes enough to maintain an adequate reservoir storage level.”

Reservoir storage for the schemes has fallen as low as 50 percent at times over the past few days, which equates to just half a day’s supply at normal consumption rates.

“The situation is by no means critical, but the need to maintain water supplies is paramount and in addition, we want to ensure that we do not have to allow saline water into the system, because that makes the water unpalatable for drinking purposes,” Mr Krawczyk adds. “We’ll monitor the situation carefully, and if we do get substantial rain and an increase in the river flow, we’ll look to ease the restrictions as soon as possible. But if the present dry conditions continue and we don’t get a substantial reduction in usage, it’s possible that we may have to introduce a total hose and sprinkler ban.”

Local radio and newspaper coverage will be utilised to keep the Whakatāne and Ōhope communities up-to-date on the situation.

In addition to adhering to the hose and sprinkler use restrictions, residents in both communities are asked to make voluntary savings wherever possible. Some simple tips include:

• Turn taps off while you brush your teeth or peel vegetables
• Take a short shower rather than a bath
• Only wash your car or boat if it’s really necessary
• Use the half-flush on toilets wherever possible
• Fix any leaking taps