Picton and Renwick impose sprinkler restrictions

Sprinkler restrictions have been imposed in Renwick and Picton from today as the pressure on water supplies continues to rise with the hot, dry weather across Marlborough.

In Renwick, water use has continued to rise despite reminders that levels were falling fast in the township's supply wells. After another hot day yesterday, demand reached an all-time high last night prompting this morning's decision to impose water restrictions.

In Picton, a pipe failure at the Esson's Valley water treatment plant has added to the problems. All of the town's water is being supplied by the Speed's Road plant and demand is running beyond its capacity.

Council's operations and maintenance engineer Stephen Rooney is appealing to residents in both areas to ease off their water use.

"Renwick residents were using 72 litres a second last night that's actually 12 per cent more water than the previous maximum use in the township set just a few weeks ago. People just don't seem to have accepted the message that they need to cut back," he said.

From today, hosing gardens must be limited to alternate days in both Renwick and Picton.

Properties with even-numbered street addresses may use sprinklers only on even-numbered calendar days and those with odd-numbered street address are restricted to the odd-numbered days.

There is no restriction on hand-held hoses but residents are asked to be sensible and keep this to a minimum. Only one tap should be used at a time to run a sprinkler or sprinkler systems.

In Renwick, the restrictions will be in place until further notice but in Picton it's hoped that it will be a short-term restriction only.

"Some of the town's reservoirs are down to just 30 per cent of normal capacity and we need people to co-operate," Rooney said. "Work is underway on the problems at the Essons Valley plant and, so long as demand eases enough for the reservoirs to refill, the hosing ban in Picton may be in place for less than a week."

Read the original:
Picton and Renwick impose sprinkler restrictions