Residents in parts of Westland may soon find that their water supply is under considerable strain, as experienced last summer, and water savings will become necessary. Many of our water supplies are reliant on the surrounding rivers and streams and are weather dependant. The increase in tourist numbers along with residents’ typical water use means that the District’s water infrastructure struggles to cope.

Council is in the process of applying for Government financial assistance in the form of Tourism Infrastructure Fund funding to enable upgrades of storage capacity and resilience. However, as this can only be used for capital expenditure on structural components and equipment it will not help to solve immediate problems as seasonal spikes are already being observed.

“We encourage all urban scheme water consumers to consider their water usage and conserve water where and when needed. Our e-text system, Facebook page and website will advise communities of any immediate issues and what alert level has been determined”, says David Inwood, Group Manager: District Assets.

Westland District Council plans to apply for further funding from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, initially to support the Haast, Franz Josef and Fox communities where major trend shifts are already impacting the schemes and creating potential risk for fire-fighting needs.

Council has recently become aware of some parties taking water for purposes not in-keeping with the Water Bylaw. In some cases this is placing the entire community at risk with no adequate back-flow prevention devices in place. To further protect those communities Council is considering disconnecting unsanctioned connections.

ENDS

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