The Gore District Council will lift the ban on handheld hosing at 7.00am today (Friday 8 December) after a replacement pump was installed at Gore’s main water source Cooper’s Wells.
However, the reservoir needs to recharge, and with continued hot weather and very little rainfall forecast over the next few days, Gore has moved to level three water restrictions.
This means handheld hosing is allowed between 7.00pm and 9.00pm on alternative days but there is a ban on unattended watering systems, such as sprinklers and hoses.
3 Waters Asset Manager Matt Bayliss said he appreciated peoples’ frustration at not being able to water their lawns but it was important to conserve water to get through what is being predicated to be a long, hot summer.
Environment Southland this week issued a statement saying Southland hasn’t experienced a dry period like this since 1990. With one month left in the year, Southland may experience its lowest yearly rainfall since Environment Southland’s monitoring began in the mid-1970s.
The pumps at Cooper’s Well are continuously monitored and had the pump failed in winter time there would have been little impact on residents. However, the low level of the wells and increased water use in Gore due to the hot weather exacerbated the situation, Mr Bayliss said.
The dry spring has seen the Mataura River 46% lower for this time of year than the five yearly average while the wells are 35% lower than usual for this time of year.
Main points
- Total ban on hosing will be lifted at 7.00am tomorrow
- Level 3 restrictions in place tomorrow for Gore.
- The Council continuously monitors the well pumps
- There was a new pump in storage for such an event as yesterday’s failure
- The Mataura River is 46% lower for this time of year than the five yearly average
- The wells are 35% lower than usual for this time of year