Fabio and Ryan from the Taupō District Council water treatment team keep the region's water safe and flowing.
Fabio and Ryan from the Taupō District Council water treatment team keep the region's water safe and flowing.
For many in the Waikato, the Christmas and New Year period is a chance for a well-earned rest.
However, workers in key services are still hard at work, with many in their busiest period of the year.
Taupō District Council have asked locals and visitors to remember that many of their teams are on duty over the summer, and to think about making simple choices to make their work go a little smoother.
For the parks team and animal control, as well as customer service, library and museum staff and lifeguards, it’s business as usual.
However, Taupō District Council says that being kind, picking up after yourself and keeping your dog on a leash can go a long way to helping them out.
The water and wastewater teams are also putting in the hours over the festive season to keep the treatment plants in action to ensure the water supply stays clean and running.
Dean, Stephen, Ali, Craig, Warrick and John are all part of the wastewater team, who are on the go 365 days a year.
All water coming from the area’s taps and hoses needs treatment before being pumped uphill, so although the water supply is plentiful thanks to Lake Taupō, there is still lots to be done behind the scenes to meet summer demand.
Residents can help out by not watering their lawns in the middle of the day, when significant amounts of the water is wasted through evaporation.
Not watering at all is the best choice, but if it needs to be done, getting the hose out in the morning or evening is better.
Leaky hose taps should be checked out, too, as every little helps.
Minimising extra work for the wastewater team is equally straightforward, with staff asking the public to remember only to flush the Three Ps - pee, poo and paper.
Wet wipes should never be flushed, even if the packaging says they are biodegradable.
That’s because they, along with anything else made of fabric-type materials, clump into knotted rags which can block up the sewer system and the pumps.
Unblocking these is quite a process- and something the team would prefer not to spend their New Year period doing.
Some of the most visible workers over the summer is the kerbside collection team, who will be putting in some long, hot hours in the coming weeks.
Making their work easier takes just a few moments when sorting the rubbish and recycling.
Cardboard should be flattened and staggered over several collections if there’s lots.
Only plastic types 1, 2 and 5 can be recycled in Taupō, with containers needing to be rinsed out and the lids removed first.
