Level 2 water restrictions for three water sources

Level 2 water restrictions, which ban the use of outdoor sprinklers or irrigation systems, are being applied to households in Kawakawa-Moerewa, Ōmanaia-Rāwene and Ōpononi-Ōmāpere from Monday 16 December, to help preserve water sources that are vulnerable to fluctuating rainfall.

While recent rain has seen an increase in the water levels in several Far North rivers, streams, and other water supplies, restrictions have been applied to three water sources due to predictions of a hot summer ahead and with an influx of holiday visitors in mind.

In Kawakawa and Moerewa, the Tirohanga Stream, which feeds bores that supply water to the towns, has responded well to recent rainfall but is still vulnerable to levels dropping significantly when rain eases.

While the recent identification of several leaks in the reticulation system in Rāwene has made a significant improvement to the town’s water supply, consumption levels remain high. Applying Level 2 water restrictions is key to reducing demand. The Petaka Stream which is the water source for both Rāwene and Ōmanaia is very small and has limited water flow. Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) resource consent limits the amount of water the council can take each day and water flows are nearing that limit.

A $2.8 million upgrade to the local water treatment plant and installation of storage tanks near Ōmanaia in 2019, did reduce the need to automatically apply restrictions to Ōmanaia and Rāwene every December. However both the storage tanks and stream remain reliant on regular rainfall to replenish when demand is low.

In Ōpononi and Ōmāpere, the Waiotemarama Stream is also sensitive to fluctuations in rain fall.

The council’s Water Shortage Management Committee will continue to monitor levels during the summer holiday break, and the Level 2 restrictions applied to these three water supplies will remain in place during this time.

According to NRC’s latest climate report for November most of Northland is ‘moderately dry’ to ‘severely dry’. For the three months from November soil moisture levels are likely to be below average and river flows are likely to be near normal or below normal.

The Far North’s five other water supplies remain at Level 1 where no restrictions apply but consumers are encouraged to use water sensibly.