Water restrictions remain

Level one water restrictions continue to be necessary in Tauranga, despite spells of rain and cooler weather. Concerns remain over persisting low flow levels in the streams that supply Tauranga’s drinking water, causing council to keep restrictions in place for the foreseeable future.



Stephen Burton, Director of City Waters for Tauranga City Council said “we want to thank the community for their efforts in conserving water, it made a difference which prevented the need for a hose ban. However we are not out of the woods yet and need to keep restrictions in place until we reach more consistent flow in our source water streams."



“Stream flows are at their lowest since records began in 1975, rainfall is still significantly lower than an average year and the short spells of rain have done little to relieve the situation. Water restrictions help relieve pressure on these streams,” said Mister Burton. “When using water, we continue to need to ask ourselves if this is a good use of drinking water.”



Tauranga City Council continues to closely liaise with Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BoPRC), who are responsible for caring for the region’s waterways.
Their assessment is that overall conditions have not changed substantially and NIWA is predicting extended dry spells over the next three months, underscoring the need for continued restrictions.



Until restrictions are lifted, we ask the community to continue to adhere to the level 1 water restrictions and practice water conservation habits. Sprinklers and irrigation systems are banned and watering of gardens can take place by hand held hose, in the cooler hours of day - between  5 and 8am and 7 and 10pm.



More tips on saving water can be found at tauranga.govt.nz/savingwater



The latest news on our regional situation is available at boprc.govt.nz/our-projects/dry-weather-water-management.

Photo credit: Delia Giandeini on Unsplash