Whakatane and Ohope residents are being asked to conserve water now to avoid the inconvenience of restrictions, which could be required as early as next week if storage levels continue to fall.

Whakatāne District Council Infrastructure General Manager Tomasz Krawcyzk says the call for water conservation applies particularly to consumers connected to the Whakatāne and Ōhope schemes.

“The current low flows in the Whakatāne River mean that salinity is encroaching up to and beyond the water treatment plant on each high tide,” he explains. “Currently, we are not able to draw water from the river for three to four hours each day and if the river level continues to drop, that situation will only become worse.”

Mr Krawczyk says that storage for Whakatane and Ohope has dropped to just 20 hours supply and with higher than normal tides due over the next week, the salinity issue will worsen, compromising the Council’s ability to provide enough water for normal consumption.

The Council’s emergency intake 500 metres upriver from the treatment plant is also being affected by salt water intrusion and steps are being considered to extend it by a further 300 metres.

“Our first priority is to ensure that the treated supply is not contaminated by salt water so that the water in our taps remains suitable for drinking. We would like to avoid enforcing restrictions on use, but if our storage continues to drop, that will not be possible,” Mr Krawczyk concludes. “That’s largely in the hands of consumers and any changes they make to reduce their normal usage now will certainly help us to manage the situation.”

Council staff are closely monitoring the situation and further information will be provided later in the week.

With no significant rain forecast, severe water use restrictions are only days away unless we can increase our reservoir storage by reducing usage.

Some simple tips include:

• Avoid washing cars or boats
• Avoid refilling or topping-up swimming pools
• Avoid using sprinklers on lawns or gardens
• Hand-water gardens sparingly and only early or late in the day
• If you know you have leaking taps, fix them now
• Flush toilets sparingly
• Avoid using your bath and cut your shower time down as much as possible
• Turn taps off when they’re not required

The only way to avoid severe water restrictions is to start conserving water now!