Do Your Bit to Conserve Water As Summer Kicks In
Do Your Bit to Conserve Water as Hawke’s Bay Summer Kicks In
As the region continues to dry out and Hawke’s Bay’s waterways come under increasing pressure, the Hastings District Council is calling upon residents to think twice about how they use water when they turn the tap on.
Between October and November this year the water usage in urban areas of the District has seen a sustained increase mostly due to the irrigation of lawns and gardens.
The Hastings water supply, which includes Havelock North and Flaxmere, increases from an average daily consumption of 27 million-litres-a-day to almost 50 million-litres-a-day during hot, sunny weather.
These increases put added stress on the water supply system to maintain sufficient flow and pressure but, importantly, our ability to take larger volumes of water from the underground aquifer is limited by consent.
Water Services Manager Brett Chapman
says we all need to make small changes in our behaviour,
particularly in the garden, to reduce our overall water
usage.
“If residents are able to reduce their
irrigation needs by adopting some simple conservation
measures, then we can play our part in minimising the
district’s demand for this precious commodity.
“By
promoting the water conservation message early we can
improve community awareness and avoid the possibility of
having to take more stringent measures if we are at risk of
breaching our resource consent,” Mr Chapman says.
There
are some really easy ways to become efficient users of
water. Here are some simple tips for saving water:
Outside:
• Do not water your lawn. Browning off your
lawn will not kill it. It will grow back and they need less
mowing.
• Maintaining a longer grass length increases
moisture retention and reduces weed growth.
• When
washing your vehicle, if possible, do it over your lawn so
your lawn gets watered too. Wash down with a brush and
bucket first, then do a quick hose down. And, remember
don’t leave the hose running - that can waste a bath tub
of water every five minutes.
• Targeted watering:
water by hand using your hose rather than sprinklers, as
sprinklers often get forgotten. If you are using a sprinkler
turn the flow right down and move every ten minutes. If your
budget allows consider a timer or use the timer on your
stove to remind you to shift it or turn it off.
• Avoid
irrigating during the heat of the day. Your garden benefits
more from light watering in the early morning or late
evening than over-watering during the heat of the day. The
use of timers is recommended so you can automate the timing
and duration of your watering with
ease.
Inside:
• Consider reducing shower times to 3-5
minutes. This can save upwards of 10L.
• Don’t run
the tap continuously when shaving or brushing your teeth.
This could save another 10L a minute.
• Only run your
dishwasher or washing machine when it's full – this can
save 125L for each wash not required.
• Don't leave the
water running when rinsing dishes or washing vegetables.
Rinsing in a sink or bowl can save 10L every minute.
• Try keeping a container of drinking water in the
refrigerator so you don't waste water running the tap
waiting for it to cool down.
• Every drop counts –
fixing that dripping tap could save up to 90L a day.
Last
month Council erected the “grapefruit” water
conservation signs (below) for the summer in communities
around the District to remind residents about water
efficiency.
Most areas in Hastings District are only in
the “Conservation” mode at the moment, which asks people
to implement some of the measures above to avoid stricter
measures.
ends