Tasman District Council has brought in Stage One water restrictions for the Moutere Eastern Groundwater water management zone, effective from Monday 27 February 2023.
Dry Weather Task Force convenor Kim Drummond says the district had variable amounts of rain between Wednesday and Thursday, ranging from 5 – 50 mm with a scattered average of around 20mm.
“Most rivers have had a small boost to their flow levels. Upper Motueka, especially Motupiko, is still fairly dry although Wairoa, Waimea and Wai-iti are flowing at satisfactory levels.
“The Upper Moutere area received about 7.5 mm, which has not alleviated the decline in the water levels in the Eastern Zone – of the Deep Moutere Aquifer.
“The Moutere Eastern zone is still dropping and likely to fall under the trigger level of 35 metres above mean sea level at the Drummond Rd monitoring bore in the near future.
“Therefore we have decided to bring this zone into stage 1 restrictions - meaning a cut in use by 20 percent of consented water take levels, as of Monday next week.”
“The Moutere Eastern zone is the only consented area to be affected by the announcement - we will be monitoring the levels of all water management zones, with particular interest in the Motupiko area, in the coming days.”
Trigger levels have been set by council, based on the data regarding the effects of dry weather on the respective water management zones.
Watering of lawns or decorative gardens is not permitted for any water user situated in water management zones where rationing is in effect. This excludes users of Council-managed reticulated water supply where alternative restrictions will apply.
The situation will be reviewed next week by the Dry Weather Task Force.
