Supercity’s water use super low on Saturday

Sunday 26 March

Auckland only used 386 million litres of water yesterday [Saturday 25 March] – the supercity’s lowest consumption day for the year to date. Watercare says this is a fabulous result and would like to thank the community for their ongoing support.

Since 9 March, Watercare has been urging Aucklanders to reduce their water use by 20 litres per day, setting a city-wide total daily consumption target of 400 million litres or less.

Earlier that week, an extreme weather event – referred to as the Tasman Tempest by NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll – had hit the Hunua Ranges, causing severe slips that filled the city’s water supply dams with silt.

Watercare’s Ardmore Water Treatment Plant, which produces up to two thirds of the city’s drinking water, has been operating at reduced capacity ever since due to this silt.

The company is still asking for Aucklanders to make voluntary water savings. Voluntary savings are about people finding simple ways to reduce their water use every day.

Five easy ways to reduce your water use:
1. Cut your shower time by two minutes
2. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
3. Only run your dishwasher when it’s full
4. Only run your washing machine when it’s full
5. Use the half-flush on your toilet.

Last week, Watercare chief executive Raveen Jaduram said the response the company was seeing from Aucklanders to the Save 20 message was heart-warming: “We’re a big city and yet we’re proving that in times of need, we can come together and do our bit to preserve the health and wellbeing of our diverse community.”

/ENDS

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