Council urges residents to get water wise this summer and make every drop count

With summer fast approaching, Upper Hutt City Council has kicked off its annual summer water conservation campaign. The Council calls upon residents to use water wisely and so avoid further watering restrictions as demand exceeds supply.

“As a community, it’s important for us to use water more conservatively especially during the summer when supply is low,” said Lachlan Wallach, Director of Infrastructure Services. “Upper Hutt City experiences more than its fair share of warm dry weather during summer, and that results in water consumption rising beyond the rate of supply.” Mr Wallach said.

Garden watering is one of the main culprits – even though year-round watering restrictions are in place. In Upper Hutt, properties with uneven numbers can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays ONLY and properties with even numbers can water on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays ONLY.

Mr Wallach stresses that in the near future it will be even more vital to make every drop count. Greater Wellington Regional Council is undertaking some essential seismic strengthening work on the Te Marua storage lakes. One lake at a time will be temporarily out of commission – significantly reducing the extra amount of water available.

As part of the campaign, large community signboards will be appearing at busy intersections, along with weekly adverts in the Leader.

“As well as serving as a useful reminder to make every drop count, the signs and weekly adverts also aim to inform residents of the city’s current domestic water consumption levels in relation to the city’s target level. Our target is to get domestic water consumption down to 220 litres per person per day” Mr Wallach said.

Colour-coded bubbles on adverts and signs provide residents with a weekly snapshot of their water use in relation to the city’s target level. An amber bubble indicates that we are close to, or achieving, the city’s target, a blue bubble indicates we are doing better than the target and a red bubble indicates we are exceeding the target.

To encourage us all to take steps to use water more responsibly, the Council will, throughout the campaign, keep people regularly informed on how much water we each use on average per day. By doing the right thing and working together we can keep the cost of water manageable and minimise the chance of having additional water restrictions imposed during summer. Working together means everyone doing their bit – from the Council to other businesses and individuals.

It also makes financial sense to conserve water; as it costs ratepayers’ money. “The more water we all use the higher the bill the Council pays to Greater Wellington Regional Council for our city’s bulk water supply, and the less we have available to spend in other important areas. The less we use will also delay the need for an expensive new water sources,” says Mr Wallach. He adds that the message is clear this summer: “Play your part – do the right thing and make every drop count! Don’t leave taps running, water your garden responsibly, use mulch, have a shower not a bath, fix your leaky tap and report leaks to the Council.”

For more ideas on how to conserve water visit www.upperhuttcity.com

ENDS

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