Water restrictions ease in Hamilton

A sustained decrease in the amount of water being consumed throughout Hamilton has seen the city’s water alert levels reduced to alert level 1 today.

Hamilton City Council city waters manager Tim Harty said the city’s water consumption had decreased quite significantly over recent weeks, triggering the lowering in water alert levels.

“Earlier this summer we were concerned at the high level of water consumption in the area, however for the past few weeks residents have clearly taken a proactive approach to water consumption and as a result the consumption levels dropped to a more appropriate level – allowing restrictions to ease as a result,” he said.

The change to alert level 1 means sprinkler systems are now permitted between 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm daily. Previously on alert level 2, sprinkling was only permitted between 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm on alternate days.

“Even though restrictions have now been reduced, I hope residents will continue to conserve water where possible to ensure a consistent supply throughout the months ahead,” said Mr Harty.

“It is pleasing to see that residents are making changes to the way they view and use water. Even though we may not have needed to think about water in these terms before, it is important we realise it is now a limited and precious resource and take appropriate steps to reduce our usage wherever possible. “

Hamilton's water alert levels were introduced last summer as part of ‘Smart Water Use’ – a regional collaborative effort between Hamilton City Council, Waikato District Council, Environment Waikato and other territorial authorities throughout the greater Waikato. The initiative aims to encourage residents to regard water as a ‘limited and precious resource’ and promote proactive water conservation.

More information on water consumption and alert levels is available on www.hamilton.co.nz/water