Irrigation restrictions have been imposed in Lake Hayes,
Arthur's Point and Hawea in a bid to conserve reservoir
levels and maintain firefighting storage.
Queenstown Lakes District Council general manager Mark Kunath
said in a statement yesterday irrigation restrictions were in
place for residents connected to the Lake Hayes scheme after
a "massive spike" in water use.
The scheme's reservoirs had dropped significantly, which
could have threatened storage required for firefighting.
"I am delighted to say that Lake Hayes residents have heeded
the ban and we are now seeing levels that can be managed as
long as residents continue to adhere to hand-watering their
gardens in the evenings only.
"Unfortunately, the situation is likely to continue until we
see some significant rainfall."
Mr Kunath said watering with hand-held hoses used more than
900 litres an hour, but an irrigation scheme "can use in
excess of 14,000 litres an hour; at this time of year
multiple irrigation systems are not sustainable".
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.