Wellington moves to new water restrictions: Here’s what you need to know

Wednesday, 17 January 2024

The Wellington region has moved to level two water restrictions as of 12.01am on Wednesday. With it comes new rules for the public to follow.

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Here is everything you need to know, and why it’s happening.

What is happening?

A level two water restriction means a ban will now be placed on irrigation and sprinklers, and gardens only being hand-watered, according to Wellington Water.

Wellington, Porirua, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City and South Wairarapa have all since moved to a level two restriction.

There are four levels of water restrictions. The strongest restriction bans all outdoor water use and encourages the reduction of indoor water use.

Why is this happening?

The decision was made due to “a very high demand” for water, peaking at 95 million litres on Tuesday, Wellington Water said.

The region’s water treatment plants can only treat and supply a certain amount of safe drinking water on any given day. The increase in demand and the ongoing high number of leaks was putting pressure on the network and the ability to supply enough safe drinking water.

“We expect demand to increase further in the coming weeks without intervention, with temperatures increasing and more people returning from their holidays elsewhere,” Wellington Water said.

Brief periods of rainfall in the weather forecast were unlikely to relieve the situation, it said.

What is local Government saying?

“Councils in the metropolitan region have made the decision to put in place level two water restrictions now to help reduce water demand and reduce the risk of having more severe, longer water restrictions later on,” said Laurence Edwards, Wellington Water chief advisor drinking water, network development and delivery.

The restrictions only applied to residential properties but Wellington Water asked businesses across the region to take steps to reduce water usage where possible.

“We are working with our client councils to provide guidance for non-residential customers, including on the restrictions that may apply at level three and four. If we all do our bit, then we can hopefully avoid further restrictions,” Edwards said.

How long will this go on?

As temperatures have soared over the past week, the capital’s residents waited for hours for a new supply of 200-litre tanks to arrive at Wellington’s Tip Shop.

About 100 people queued for up to four hours to get one of the 70 tanks delivered from their Feilding manufacturer last Tuesday.

According to Niwa, Wellington was among the areas in the North Island with the driest soil and was deemed a “hotspot” – regions experiencing significant soil moisture deficit.

“Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought,” it said.

As of January 8, Wellington was considered an area with “very dry to extremely dry conditions”. Other areas were Marlborough, parts of Canterbury, interior Otago, and Stewart Island.

Level four restrictions currently had a 33% chance of being imposed.