All Aucklanders living as far south as Pukekohe and as far north as Waiwera have been asked to reduce their water use by 20 litres per day until the end of March.
Following floods earlier this month, it’s going to take many weeks for silt in the Hunua dams to settle. Until then, the region’s largest water treatment plant, based in Ardmore, remains under pressure. Water clarity at Ardmore is still 100 times worse than it should be.
Here are some practical tips to help you and your family reach this target.
10 ways to save water
- Cut your shower time by two minutes to save about 16 litres.
- Only run your dishwasher and washing machine when you’ve got a full machine-load. This may mean you’re not doing washing or dishes every day if your household is small. Use an ‘eco’ or low-water setting if your machine has one.
- Use the half-flush on your toilet – you’ll save up to 3 litres per flush – and don’t use your toilet to flush rubbish.
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shaving to save up to four litres.
- Please avoid non-essential tasks such as washing your car or water-blasting until further notice.
- Fill a bowl with water to scrub vegetables in instead of filling the sink or washing them under running water. Once finished, this water can be used on the garden.
- Place a bucket in the shower to collect water while you wait for it to warm up. Use this on the garden instead of watering with a hose, sprinkler or irrigation system.
- Use a broom to sweep outdoor areas instead of hosing them down.
- Keep water in a covered jug in the fridge – it saves running the tap to get cold water.
- When hand-washing dishes, fill the sink rather than rinsing and washing the dishes under a running tap.
What if we don’t reach the savings target?
If significant savings are not made, then Watercare may be forced to release partially-treated water into the system.
In this instance, a boil water notice would then be issued.
For more information
- Watercare website
- Auckland Civil Defence Facebook page
