Conserve Water Notice – Greater Greymouth Water Supply
This is a reminder to all residents that the conserve water notice is still in place. Contractors monitoring our water supplies and consumption have recommended consumers on the Greater Greymouth Water Supply need to increase efforts to conserve water wherever possible.
Recently Greymouth has experienced some of the hottest recorded temperatures in over 75 years.
High temperatures mean high water use in the district and this puts extreme pressure on local water supplies with the additional amount of water being more than double typical usage in some instances.
High temperatures and increased demand often occurs at times when river levels are low, as is the case currently. Lower levels of rainfall further compound the situation and the forecast does not show any sign of rain levels sufficient to top up supplies occurring any time soon.
The amount of water consumed makes a big difference to the supply capacity so when residents all work together to help conserve water during times of increased pressure on the system we usually have enough water to provide a continuous supply.
We’ve been monitoring water use and noticed that initially the Greymouth supply demand reduced but has crept up again and in Blackball water consumption has started to increase.
Help us to supply enough water to everyone this summer. Making small changes can result in a big reduction in your water use. Check out these water-saving tips:
Hold your hoses
- Using a handheld hose to water your garden gives you more control and uses a lot less water
- If you’re using automatic irrigation make sure your system is set up with water conservation in mind! In most cases you don’t need to leave sprinklers on for as long as you think – read the manual or get in touch with an irrigation specialist to see if your settings are water-wise.
Morning time? Watering the garden is fine
- Plants need less water when the sun’s not out and the wind's died down. Watering in the morning is one of the easiest ways you can save water.
Shorten your shower
- Keep your showers short and sweet. Use a timer or match the length of your shower with your favourite four minute song.
Slow the flow
- Older showerheads often use a lot more water than needed. Replacing it with a modern, low flow showerhead is an easy cost saving exercise. Don’t worry, you won’t lose out on water pressure - modern showerheads use air to create a high pressure experience!
Seek the leak
- Dripping taps, showerheads, toilets and leaky pipes could be contributing to your excess water use.
Be a one-load wonder
- Washing a full load of laundry is the most water-efficient way to do your laundry. Wait until you have a full load that needs a wash before pressing “go” on your machine.
Contain the rain
- Installing a rainwater tank is a simple and inexpensive process and provides another source of water that can be used for gardening, irrigation or washing your car.
Its written in the star-rating
- When buying appliances, look for those with the most stars from WELS (Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme). Choosing a water-efficient appliance can make a big difference in your water use. Front-loading washing machines use 40 percent to 75 percent less water than top-loaders, and they’re kinder to your clothes!
What are Councils Future Plans:
We never like placing water restrictions on the community and in the past we’ve had plenty of capacity but we’re noticing that weather patterns have changed and long hot dry periods are becoming more common so that is a situation we are watching to help with infrastructure planning.
The Council has upgrades planned for the main Greymouth supply where we’ll be adding a 4th bore and has a programme in place to detect and reduce network leakage. While this will help with increased capacity, it’s likely that in extreme conditions we’ll all need to think about conserving water.
To report a problem, seek assistance or obtain information please contact us 03 769 8611. Our friendly customer service team will be happy to help.
