Local retailers help get Tiaki ngā wai message out
Local retailers are being given the ‘thumbs up’ for displaying the council’s water restriction signs and getting Tiaki ngā wai – Save water now messaging out to the whole district this summer.
The role played by 18 different outlets in displaying the signs was crucial in promoting the conservation message and informing residents and visitors of water restrictions. The signs began appearing outside supermarkets, petrol stations and other retailers in the Far North in December last year as the council prepared for a hot, dry summer.
This year, new look signs featured new icons focusing on the four restriction levels and showed more clearly what types of water use is restricted at each level.
The signs were recently collected after all council water supplies returned to Level 1, which permits all water use but encourages people to use water sensibly. Level 2 bans the use of outdoor sprinklers, Level 3 adds hoses to the banned list, and Level 4 restricts use to cleaning, cooking and washing only.
The council’s Water Shortage Management Committee applied a level of restriction to all eight council-operated water supplies over the course of this summer. The committee based its decisions on data collected daily and weekly on the health of rivers and bores used as raw water sources. Water restrictions are applied when levels in these sources drop or when demand for treated water stretches the capacity of water treatment plants.
During the summer months, just three water supplies were placed on Level 3 restrictions. They were Kawakawa-Moerewa, Ōpononi-Ōmāpere and Ōmanaia-Rāwene. There were no Level 4 restrictions applied.
A big thanks from the council to all the helpful staff at:
- Kawakawa Four Square
- Moerewa BP
- Paihia Four Square
- Waitangi Countdown
- Ōpua General Store
- Kerikeri – New World and Countdown
- Waipapa - Mitre 10 and The Warehouse
- Kaikohe – New World and Waitomo Station
- Hokianga – Hokianga Takeaways, Café & Gallery No.1 Parnell, Ōmāpere Gas Station, Ōpononi Four Square
- Kaitāia – Mobil, Te Ahu isite, BP Awanui