Water restrictions climb: sprinkler ban in force

Making sure all homes have water coming out of their taps is the top priority.

Hastings District Council has today [January 12] raised water restrictions to level three in Hastings, Flaxmere, Bridge Pa and Havelock North, in the wake of pockets of homes across the district losing supply during peak times.

That means a total ban on sprinklers but residents can use hand held hoses to water their gardens every second day, between 6am and 8am, and 7pm and 9pm. “But please use only what you need; if you can get away with half an hour, then stop after that,” said Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule.

If there is not significant savings as a result of the level three restrictions, Council will have no choice but to move to level one, which means no outdoor water use at all.

“We have people at the end of the water lines who are getting no water at all during peak times. This is unacceptable. The pumps are not keeping up with demand and while we are working as fast as possible to bring more pumps on-line, in the meantime we have no choice but to force a drop in demand,” said acting Chief Executive Craig Cameron.

Council is suspending the watering of most sports fields and gardens, apart from those with their own separate water supplies and those that have to be done for health and safety reasons. Splash pad hours in Cornwall Park, Flaxmere Park and Camberley will be reduced to 11am to 5pm.

Council staff will be on the streets in the evenings “reinforcing and educating” residents on the new restrictions, “and we are hopeful everyone will pull together and support these restrictions in order to benefit everyone. If we don’t see significant progress we will have to consider stronger enforcement measures,” said Mr Cameron.

The issue was not limited to Hastings, with Napier warning its residents this week that its pumps were struggling to keep up with supply. Central Hawke’s Bay has had restrictions in place since before Christmas.

ENDS

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