Registered Master Builders Association Tauranga president Todd Grey at work in the sun. Photo / Andrew Warner
The impact of "dangerously dry" conditions caused by about a month of next to no rainfall is being felt around Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty region.
Water usage has hit a five-year high, the fire risk is extreme and businesses are scrambling to keep sweltering staff safe.
And there is little rain on the horizon.
In the past week, Tauranga's water usage hit a five-year high at about 55,000 million litres a day.
Tauranga City Council senior water network engineer Barry Sarjeant said although usage dropped when a sprinkler ban was introduced on January 30, continued hot and dry weather had it climbing again.
He said it was important for people to obey the restrictions and keep trying to conserve water.
A full hose ban was not yet necessary, he said.
Tauranga residents can still water their garden by hand-held hose but this was banned in Te Puke on Wednesday.
This was due to increasing demand on Western Bay of Plenty District Council reservoirs from consumers in the Eastern Water Zone.
Council utilities manager Kevin hill said Te Puke's reservoirs had dropped to critical levels due to demand.
The council had stopped watering public grounds apart from some reserves where the damage this would cause would incur a huge cost to ratepayers.
The rest of the district was on high alert to conserve water and the council would revisit the ban next week.
Tauranga Master Builders Association president Todd Grey said the hot and dry weather conditions were a "double-edged sword".
He said if builders did not look after themselves, drink plenty of water and keep electrolytes up, they could get dehydrated and sick.
Grey said if building staff were too hot and fatigued there was increased risk of injury.
"If there is no cover over you, then there's pretty much no escaping it."
However, the dry days were also perfect to build in because rain slowed work down, he said.
Pumicelands principal rural fire officer Steve Webb said conditions were getting "drier and drier every day".
So much so, officers were considering imposing restrictions on activities such as lawnmowing in the middle of the day because the sparks were such a risk.
"We are getting really quite concerned."
Webb said even though occasional showers were in the forecast, a small amount of rain would not make a difference to the fire danger.
People should not get a "false sense of security" from a little bit of rainfall because more regular rain was needed to have an effect in such dry conditions, he said.
In the past week crews of 30 to 40 firefighters plus helicopters fought at least four big fires in the region, he said.
Crews were called out to about six vegetation and small structural fires in the 24 hours to Friday morning.
On Wednesday afternoon, a spark from a powerline caused a 2ha grass fire near Whakatāne. Five fire crews worked for about five-and-a-half hours to prevent it from reaching a nearby property.
A prohibited fire season had been declared for the Bay of Plenty Coast, Central Lakes, and Pumicelands.
Matatā Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Gavin Dennis said conditions were "dangerously dry" so grass and scrub could light up extremely easily.
As a coastal brigade, he said their main concern was people's activities on the beaches.
A few weeks back sparks from bonfires set full rows of sand dunes on fire, he said.
Branches falling on powerlines also ignited grass fires recently.
"It doesn't take much in conditions like these."
Dennis, who had been with the brigade for 32 years, said this summer was one of the driest he had seen in years.
According to Niwa's Drought Index, the Bay of Plenty region ranged from dry to extremely dry but was not yet at drought conditions.
MetService meteorologist Andrew James said although showers were expected in the Eastern Bay of Plenty this weekend, the region was looking mainly dry for the next few days.
Tauranga had not seen rainfall at all this month and had not had significant rainfall for close to a month, he said.
Tauranga's last downpour was on January 8 when it saw 16.6mm of rain.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said although soil moisture was minimal at this stage, forecasters were monitoring the second half of February as moisture from the tropics was looking like it could blow over.
"There could be some weather changes in the coming weeks."
It was not only the soil getting thirsty, as many rural folks' water supply began to dry up and businesses felt the heat.
Tauranga's Select Lawn Mowing master franchisee Hayden Goldsack said business had seen a major drop because the grass simply was not growing
He said at some places he felt like he was just "moving the dust around" or being told to come back in a few weeks because there was nothing to mow.
"This is the driest I've seen it in 12 to 14 years."
He said he carried a fire extinguisher with him at all times to mitigate the risk and would be instructing all his workers to do the same.
Cheethams excavators, a rural Te Puke water carrier, has been inundated with business.
A spokeswoman said they were working hard to get the water out quickly and business was on the rise.
"We can only do so much."
Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty president Darryl Jensen said the organisation was getting messages out to farmers to be proactive and not make the calls too late in terms of things like sourcing feed.
He encouraged farmers to make sure they had enough water and shade for their animals.
"It's just being proactive, and looking after your animals and yourself. These dry conditions, when they come around, are stressful for farmers and animals."
He said the total fire ban in the Bay of Plenty meant farmers would not be able to tidy up around their farm and would have to store rubbish until it could be burned.
Advice provided by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board said the duration of excessive heat played an important role in how people were affected by a heatwave.
"Extreme heat can cause illness and death and can affect anyone at any time. For example; heat rash, cramps, sunburn, heat exhaustion, heatstroke/sunstroke."
Some people were at greater risk than others: Babies and infants, older people, those with pre-existing medical conditions or on certain medications, and people living alone are more at risk. Pets and livestock were also susceptible.
Coping with the heat
• Stay out of the sun, avoid extreme physical exertion and drink lots of water
• Put sun safety practices into action
• Wear loose, cool clothing
• Keep your home cool by opening windows to catch the breeze and keeping curtains or blinds closed to keep the sun out
• Do not to leave anyone, particularly children, older people or pets alone in parked cars
• Limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours
• Seek medical help if feeling weak or dizzy or if having intense thirst or a headache.
Source: Bay of Plenty District Health Board
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