Tauranga greenfingers can rejoice – with the year-round plan for managing water in Tauranga, called Water Watchers, including a new allowance for watering vegetable gardens and a shorter peak water restriction period.
Tauranga City Council has approved a new Water Watchers plan, which will remain through to 2026, that has seen revisions come from community feedback and learnings from last summer.
The Water Watchers Plan was launched in 2021 to proactively manage outdoor water use in Tauranga – at home, at work, and in the community.
Grouped into months, the plan restricts outdoor water use such as sprinklers, water blasters, filling pools and more, either outright or at certain times of the day, with restrictions increasing from December 1.
Water demand in Tauranga grows up to 30 per cent during hotter summer months, driven primarily by outdoor use. Last summer the implementation of the Water Watchers Plan helped to reduce this peak and ensure that the city could remain sustainably supplied.
TCC water services manager Peter Bahrs says it was important to learn from last summer as well as listening to the community's feedback.
Low volume micro irrigation systems
'As part of this we acknowledge the value of vegetable gardens, especially during the current cost of living challenges facing our community, and as a result we've amended the plan to allow for watering of vegetable gardens using low volume micro irrigation systems.
'We have also made various changes to account for other sectors of the community that use water.”
Water use in the construction industry is now included in the At Work plan and encourages commercial users to consider alternate water sources and apply for a Smart Water Plan for water use of more than 1000 litres per day.
Another plan change will see the most stringent water restrictions easing a month earlier in 2023, at the end of February instead of March. This is in part due to the anticipated opening of Waiāri water treatment plant and increased rainfall in winter and spring that's helped source water streams.
Sharing what's available
'The Waiāri Water Supply Scheme has been designed to meet water demand now, and over at least the next 30 years. There will be more water available for Tauranga with the sustainable threshold for the city increasing from 50 to 55 million litres per day for the 2022/2023 summer,” says Peter.
'But that's not an invitation to increase use, in fact quite the opposite. As a rapidly growing city we must adjust to changing environmental challenges by following good water conservation practices all year round.
'As a community we need to appreciate that we are all sharing what's available and make sure we're not taking more water than nature can supply – so this summer keep an eye on the city's water usage dashboard to see how we are tracking,” says Peter.
For more information, visit: https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/council/water-services/water-watchers.