Watercare pleased with water savings but still waiting for significant rain

Aucklanders are heeding calls to save water, but with only a few rain showers on the horizon compulsory restrictions remain a distinct possibility next month.

Watercare has been encouraged at water use remaining below 500 million litres a day, but people need to keep going, a spokeswoman said.

"With construction and some aspects of hospitality gearing up this week, it's important that Aucklanders continue to shorten their showers to four minutes and avoid things like car washing and water blasting," she said.

Yesterday, Aucklanders used 445m litres of water on another gorgeous sunny day. This compared to 431m litres on Friday and 421m on Thursday and Wednesday.

Mangatangi Dam, Watercare's largest dam, where low dam levels have revealed an island in the middle of the dam. Photo / Watercare

The spokeswoman said the weather forecast is for showers on Tuesday and next Saturday, but no consistent rainfall was on the horizon to make a difference to the city's dams, which were 47.6 per cent full today.

Watercare chief executive Raveen Jaduram has said the council-owned water company does not want to add to the demands people are facing with the Covid-19 lockdown, but the city has reached a trigger point where it must consider mandatory water restrictions.

"Since the start of the year, we've received less than half (47 per cent) the usual rainfall in our water catchment areas. So to receive yet another dry forecast is very concerning," he said.

The city's storage dams dropped below 50 per cent. In the drought of 1993/1994 storage levels got down to a frightening 36 per cent.

The dams were 66 per cent this time last year and the average is 76 per cent for this time of the year.

Jaduram said a survey of 500 Aucklanders found 97 per cent said it was important to save water now, but now is the time to tighten belts and make every drop of water count.

The survey also found Aucklanders agreed everyone should be taking shorter showers.