With the dry conditions being experienced across the region, Waikato Regional Council is reminding all resource consent holders of water takes to carefully check their consent conditions and comply with low flow restrictions.

For those taking surface water this might mean an immediate reduction or cessation of take, says the council’s Water Allocation team leader Donna Jones.

Most rivers and streams in Waikato River catchments are experiencing low flow conditions and flows are expected to keep dropping under the current dry (drought) conditions.

“We did have some rain relief from the heat and dust across the region in the weekend but unless we get more sustained rainfall over the coming weeks we’ll see little recovery of the declining soil moisture levels and river flows,” said Mrs Jones

“It is crucial that all those who have not already done so begin conserving water now to reduce the pressure on our waterways and to protect water quality and ecology.”

Waikato Regional Council has contacted all surface water take holders with low flow restrictions to check their water usage and river flows at their specified monitoring site.

Groundwater users should also ensure all take limits and monitoring requirements are fully complied with.

Council staff are keeping a close eye on the state of catchments in the region and further restrictions on taking water may be required for stressed catchments if river levels continue to decline.

Information on river flows can be found on the Council website at waikatoregion.govt.nz/rainfall-latest-reading.

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