Crisis meeting called to tackle drought danger

Jim Salinger

The Government announced yesterday that it is calling a "national drought meeting" in Wellington on February 12 to look at problems caused by the sustained dry weather across most of the country.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said areas of high concern were in the upper Clutha, Lindis, the Mackenzie Basin, small pockets in central Otago, pockets in north Canterbury and Wairarapa.

She said MAF officials were following the situation very carefully and had commissioned more financial reports in the worst affected areas.

Much of the country is in the grip of drought, with garden watering restrictions in place, farmers fearing the worst and Niwa predicting dry conditions to continue into April.

Niwa climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger said large areas of the North Island, from Auckland to the Wairarapa, have "extreme soil moisture deficits", and parts of the South Island, from Marlborough to southern Canterbury, are the same.

In Hamilton a full ban on garden watering is in place for the first time in 20 years, with Waikato recording its driest January in more than 100 years.

Record water consumption forced the Hamilton City Council to put the ban in place.

"In Southland, they've formed a drought committee. That's unheard of," Dr Salinger said.

He said the warm, dry conditions are here to stay.

"We really need a good soaking over several days," Dr Salinger said.

January has been a dry month, and many centres in the North Island recorded rain levels at 25 per cent or less than the monthly average.

Auckland recorded 15mm compared to the average fall for January of 58mm. The situation was similar in Hamilton, Tauranga, Whakatane, Rotorua and Napier.

The dry spell has forced councils across the country to introduce water restrictions.

A total ban on hoses and sprinklers is in place in Thames, as the local district council reports low flow rates in the town's primary water source, the Mangerehu Stream. Bans on sprinklers and hoses are also in place in the towns of Pauanui, Coromandel and Tairua.

Restrictions are also in place in south Taranaki, where all forms of irrigation are banned. The council has asked residents to report breaches of the ban and leaks.

Tasman gardeners are feeling the pinch as watering is allowed every second day. The council will meet next week to decide whether further restrictions will be put in place.

In Central Otago, a sprinkler ban in Cromwell and Bannockburn has been lifted, but residents are being encouraged to save water.

A restriction on irrigation is still in place with residents allowed to water every second day, but Central Otago District Council utilities engineer Robert Lei said there has been rain in the region and more was forecast for yesterday.

He said there have been occasional reports of people wasting water or watering outside the designated time, but "the police aren't cruising around".

Mr Lei said the council sends letters to people after a complaint is received and has not had to follow up with secondary warnings so far.