Wellington Water eases water restrictions
Monday, 6 May 2024
After months of dry weather and Level 2 water restrictions, Wellington Water finally has some good news ‒ Wellington, Lower and Upper Hutt and Porirua will move to Level 1 on Wednesday, meaning sprinklers can be used every second day.
The move is being attributed to a number of factors, including reduced water usage but The Post understands that “restriction fatigue” was also a factor.
The region had stayed at Level 2 for longer than expected and Wellington Water was aware that people were no longer taking the restrictions seriously. With levels high in the storage lakes but low in the rivers, it’s hoping for rain in May.
Wellington Water chief executive Tonia Haskell said there had been a noticeable reduction in water use, in part caused by cooler and shorter days, and she congratulated residents for their conservation efforts.water.
“It’s been a tricky summer with a long dry autumn, and we really appreciate your efforts.”
Before the introduction of restrictions it was feared Wellington could run dry, forcing people to boil water and hospitals requiring water trucks
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Director of regularity services Charles Barker said the time was right to ease restrictions.
Although river levels were low for this time of the year, he did not expect them to get any lower.
“With demand remaining steady, and shorter days and cooler weather reducing the risk of spikes in demand, we can gradually reduce water restrictions within the next week and a half.”
If the situation remained stable, Wellington, Porirua, and Lower Hutt would move out of water restrictions entirely on May 15. Upper Hutt would remain at Level 1 all year-round.
Wellington Water would continue to monitor river levels to ensure it was taking enough water without compromising water quality, he said.
It was also committed to driving down water loss by renewing pipes and repairing leaks “and increasing the resilience of the region’s water supply”.
The Hutt City Council las week said extra funding for Wellington Water had helped reduce its leak backlog from 700 to 600.
Barker said there was still a need to conserve water. “Building healthy habits is the best way to do what's right for our environment and our community. We want to encourage people to love every drop, every day.”
The MetService is predicting that the first two weeks of May will be largely dry. The second half of the month will see levels of rain typically associated with May, which is normally a wet month.
Water numbers
Wellington Water fixed 185 leaks last week.
Wellington Water supplies 62 billion litres of water every year.
Level 1 restricts sprinkler use to every second day.
On average Wellington Water supplies 174 million litres of water every day.
$30b over 30 years, the amount Wellington Water estimates councils need to spend on water services.