Hosing restrictions for Invercargill and Bluff

Invercargill City Council is calling on Invercargill and Bluff residents to conserve water and is imposing hosing restrictions as of Thursday, January 12, until further notice, Water Manager Alister Murray said today.

Mr Murray said while it was likely that the city would get some rain in the next day or so, the forecast was predicting a return to dry conditions by mid next week.

“The water flow in the Oreti River is very low at present and while there may be some rain it is expected to be short-lived and a return to dry conditions is forecast for next week,” Mr Murray said.

Mr Murray said from Thursday, Invercargill and Bluff residents could only use a hand held hose.

“All unattended hosing and the use of garden sprinklers is prohibited.

“This restriction has been made necessary because of high seasonal demand and low flows in the Oreti River.”

Mr Murray said while official restrictions were being imposed from Thursday he asked residents to not wait till Thursday to conserve water.

“If every individual does their bit, then collectively that adds up to have a positive effect on our rivers and water resources.”

Under the Resource Consent to take water from the Oreti River, Environment Southland requires the Invercargill City Council to invoke water restrictions when the river falls below a certain level.

This notice is issued under the Demand Management provisions of the Invercargill City Council Bylaw 2008/6 – Water Supply.

Mr Murray said the low rainfall over the past six weeks had seen the level of the Oreti River fall steadily.

Mr Murray said by imposing the hosing restriction Council was effectively managing the demand on the city’s water supply and complying with the conditions of its water consent to take water from the Oreti River.

“If the demand continues to increase, our system will no longer be able to meet demand and the reservoir storage will start to drop. That reservoir storage is essential for emergencies, such as fire fighting and in case of system malfunction such as burst pipelines and equipment failure.

“Don’t leave taps running when you are cleaning your teeth, showers are better than baths and don’t stand in the shower longer than you need to. In the laundry make sure you do full loads of washing, rather than lots of small loads and remember do not leave hoses and sprinklers running unattended,” he said.

For more information on tips to conserve water go to www.icc.govt.nz.