Media Release
11 January 2013

Irrigation bans in place as Hawke’s Bay continues to dry out

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council continues to see river flows and ground water levels drop and now advises bans and warnings on rivers in the region.

Irrigation bans have been put in place in parts of the Ngaruroro, Waipawa and Tukituki Rivers and without significant rain more warnings will be implemented on these rivers over the next week, affecting more than 200 consent holders.

HBRC Group Manager Resource Management Iain Maxwell says while rain over the Christmas/New Year period gave some relief to the dry conditions, Central and Southern Hawke’s Bay is still very dry with little respite forecast.

“This is an important time of year for Hawke’s Bay cropping farmers so as you can imagine this is a very stressful situation for all farmers,” says Mr Maxwell.

HBRC compliance staff will be monitoring irrigation throughout the summer by checking irrigators’ water meters and using aerial monitoring. Irrigators should be clear about the conditions for their water takes, particularly when low flow bans kick in, so they can keep compliant.
“Our message to farmers and croppers is to keep an eye on the environmental data on HBRC’s website and make sure that you can abide by consent conditions when bans come into force.”

The ‘Environmental Data’ links are in a prominent place on the homepage of the Regional Council’s website, www.hbrc.govt.nz – look under “Low Flows” tab. Live “River Level” data is also on this home page section, for people who want to see general trends. Lower down the home page under Quick Links, farmers can log in and get more details.

Any enquiries about low flows or possible illegal irrigation can be made to HBRC throughout the holiday period on the Council’s hotline 0800 108 838.

ENDS

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