News release
26 February 2008

Garden sprinkler and irrigation systems banned

The use of garden sprinkler and irrigation systems has been banned in Lower Hutt, Wellington, Upper Hutt and Porirua. The four city councils have agreed to impose this ban at the request of Greater Wellington, who supplies them with bulk water for distribution.

The ban was triggered by a long period of low water levels in Greater Wellington’s water supply areas and a dry weather forecast for the rest of this week. Greater Wellington is currently projecting that by the end of the week the Wainuiomata Treatment Plant will close and the Te Marua storage lakes will be about 50% full.

“Although parts of the region received significant rainfall over the weekend, very little of it fell over the water catchments. The Kaitoke water catchment only received 3mm and the Wainuiomata/Orongorongo catchment only received 1.5mm,” says Cr Rex Kirton, Chair of Greater Wellington’s Parks, Forests and Utilities Committee.

“We are assessing the situation daily and although hand-held watering is still okay, councils may need to impose a total ban on all hosing if the situation worsens. In the meantime, I urge people to take the greatest care when using water and help us avoid the possibility of further water restrictions.”

The Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua and Wellington city councils are responsible for enforcing the ban. Information on local water restrictions can be found on local council websites.

ENDS

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