Critical Water Shortage in Mossburn

Mossburn residents are urged to conserve water immediately. This includes no washing of vehicles and no hosing or gardens or lawns, including hand held.

One of the township’s two bores has run dry and the other is producing 4 litres per second. The town is using 4 litres a second and the reservoir is at 40% so we aren’t making any headway and are yet to hit the peak usage time for the day.There is an extreme danger the township will run dry if use of water is not reduced urgently.The SDC earlier put out an advisory saying the region is going through an unprecedented dry spell, which is severely impacting our ability to uptake water from the usual source points. We understand that this is a stressful time for many.Some showers are forecast for the coming week, but at this stage we are not expecting enough rainfall to significantly ease the current situation.The Council is developing emergency measures that could be actioned should reserves run any lower. However, we are hoping that with a combined effort we can avoid having to put these in place.

At this critical time we encourage everyone to play their part.Don’t use water unless you absolutely have to.Water should be used for humanitarian purposes first, and animal welfare second.Don’t irrigate your pastures. Environment Southland has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a Water Shortage Direction covering the whole of Southland. The direction, which will initially be in place for 14 days, directs that irrigation water takes are required to cease immediately.The SDC urges Southlanders right across the province to –

If you’re on a rural water scheme provide shade for stock, and turn off water to parts of your farm that are not being grazed.We need to continue restricting bulk water cartage from our supplies until conditions improve.Keep a lookout for leaks and report them to Southland District Council on 0800 732 732.