Matawii Dam eases Kaikohe water restrictions

Water restrictions applied in Kaikohe and Ngāwhā will ease as a result of the Matawaii Dam being confirmed as a viable water supply for the town by council contractors.

Level 3 water restrictions - which ban the use of hoses, sprinklers or irrigation systems - were applied to Kaikohe-Ngāwhā in March. As of today (Thursday 18 April), these restrictions will be eased to Level 2 which continues a ban on sprinklers and irrigation systems, but allows the use of outdoor hoses.

When the Level 3 water restrictions were applied, water flows in the Wairoro Stream, the town’s primary water source, were recorded at 13 litres per second. That is the minimum rate allowed by Northland Regional Council’s consent.

Council staff worked with Tai Tokerau Water, which officially opened the dam in May 2023, to install infrastructure to access water from the dam to supplement Wairoro Stream. Testing has confirmed that the treated dam water meets NZ Drinking Water Safety Standards.

Water flows in the Wairoro Stream have been sustained above the resource consent levels since the dam water was introduced.

No changes have been made to water restriction levels for other Far North towns. Level 2 restrictions continue for Kawakawa-Moerewa, Ōpononi-Ōmāpere, Kerikeri-Waipapa, Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi, and Ōmanaia-Rāwene. Two of the council’s eight water schemes, Kaitāia and Ōkaihau, remain at Level 1, although residents are encouraged to use water sensibly.

Recent rains have had a positive impact on water sources but meteorologists are predicting that dry conditions will continue for coming months. Several river and groundwater sources used by the council are sensitive to changing weather conditions, which can cause levels in these sources to change dramatically.

The council’s Water Shortage Management Committee (WSMC) will continue to meet weekly to monitor weather trends and assess the health of rivers and bores it uses as water sources.