Careful water use by Raglandic people in January’s hot weather has seen Raglan water usage stay flat at 1900 to 2,200 cubic metres a day.
In a surprise move, the Waikato District Council has tightened the water restrictions in Raglan moving them up to Level 2. This means sprinklers can only be used on alternate days and only in the 6-8am and 6-8pm time slots. No restriction has been imposed on commercial users.
Water usage in Raglan for the past week was:
| Raglan Daily Water Usage in cubic metres | ||
| Mon 7 Jan | 2249 | |
| Tues 8 Jan | 1965 | |
| Wed 9 Jan | 2280 | |
| Thurs 10 Jan | 2214 | |
| Fri 11 Jan | 2117 | |
| Sat 12 Jan | 2173 | |
| Sun 13 Jan | 2262 |
We asked Waikato District Council why, water restrictions had been tightened in Raglan when there didn’t seem to be any justification for the move:
Richard Bax, General Manager Water & Facilities for the Council provided the following information:
“Yes the water demand in Raglan is within the capacity of the spring and currently within the consent for the water take. However a number of factors were considered when we moved to Alert Level 2:
- As a council we try to keep the same water restriction alert level across the district to minimise confusion and to ensure the same constant message is being given.
- The council has water take consents, including Raglan, issued by Waikato Regional Council (WRC). Part of the requirements of the consenting process was the development of a Drought Management Plan for the district. In this plan the council proposes to instigate measures to manage water use in the district during summer to ensure water is being used in a smart and conservative way.
- We have a total of 12 different water schemes, including Southern (Tamahere, Matangi, Gordonton)and Western Districts (Te Kowhai Road and Stonebridge areas). In the latter two areas, we purchase water off Hamilton City Council and as customers we are required to comply with any restrictions imposed by them.
- We act in a sub-regional environment and work closely with our immediate neighbours on a number of initiatives, so that is why the Waikato district moved to Alert Level 2 at the same time as Hamilton City. We believe acting together helps avoid confusion about who is supplying services from where.
- The measures are easy to comply with and result in very little inconvenience to customers.”