Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise says we need to value water better and manage demand through behaviour change. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hastings matched Napier’s Level 3 water restriction with a late-Friday confirmation that only hand-held watering is permitted.
Hastings District Council said the development meant there was now a sprinkler ban for the district.
However, statistics show water consumption differed hugely between the region’s two major cities.
A record day for water consumption in Napier was recorded by the city council in November – 637 litres per person.
But that is merely the equivalent of what Hastings residents have used on average every day so far in 2024 – 634 litres per person.
Napier went to level 3 restrictions before summer even began on November 29.
The council said water usage had increased dramatically and the city was in December using 500 and 570 litres of water per person per day, which it said was more than most other places in New Zealand.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said on November 9, a week before the council put the Level 2 restriction in place, the city had its highest water use on record.
She said there was a need to learn to “value water better and manage our demand through behaviour change”.
“Because we don’t have water meters we don’t have good data on how much water we are losing through leaks.
“We have ageing infrastructure that needs significant investment. We have among the highest water use in New Zealand and yet we pay among the lowest rates – about $285 per household per year (9c in every dollar for water supply).”
She said council didn’t know why her city’s water use was so high.
“It’s linked to summer weather because during the winter we use about 17,000 cubic metres of water a day and in summer that can go up to as much as 37,000 cubic metres,” Wise said.
“Our reservoirs hold about 36,000 cubic metres and that’s what we are using every day at the moment.
“We have a culture of believing the aquifer is limitless but actually at the rate we are using water, we will reach capacity with the aquifer.
“Our ability to pump water, ie move it from the bore to the tap, is capped, so this can mean the water pressure is compromised.
“This has an impact on our ability to fight fires. Also, our water allocation is capped by HBRC which is the regulator – this is the amount we are allowed to take from the aquifer – so as our city/region grows we need to use less water to accommodate everyone’s needs.
“There are many things people can do to manage their water demand. From using mulch in gardens, to covering the pool to getting leaks fixed, it all adds up and it all helps.”
Napier City Council said it was monitoring water use closely as its intention was to bring the level down as soon as possible. A seven-day rolling average of less than 30,000 cubic metres a day is acceptable.
Interestingly, down the road in Hastings, on November 9 it also hit its peak water usage – a whopping 973 litres per person.
However, the council said it was so high – in part – because of reservoirs being refilled over that period.
The Wairoa District Council says its average reticulated water consumption is around 250 litres per person per day or 445 litres per day per connection. These numbers are low because around half of Wairoa’s population has its own water source.
Similarly, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council said it supplied approximately 394 litres of water per person, per day in the district.
“This is an estimate calculated using the following information: There are 1024 litres of water produced per connection each day in Central Hawke’s Bay Water. The average occupancy rate per dwelling used across the district is 2.6. (based on 2018 Census, according to Squillions growth prediction report).”
In Masterton the average water use is 664 litres per person per day last year. This data is based on the amount of water that leaves the treatment plant, and the council says there are likely leaks in the network blowing that figure out.
In Whanganui, the average daily water use per person this year was 290 litres per day.
The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s draft Regional Water Assessment in 2022 predicted an annual 32 million cubic metre shortage of water in the region by 2040.
On Friday the Government announced a $3 million grant to find out if the massive project to store water on the Makaroro River is viable – commercially, environmentally and technically.
'We can’t keep doing things the same way and expect a different result,' mayor says.