Rototuna and surrounding areas in Hamilton are using much more water than other areas in the city per capita during this dry summer.
According to the latest data of Hamilton City Council, the areas towards the north of Hamilton – including Flagstaff, Rototuna, Rototuna North, Huntington, St James Park, and Harrowfield – have been using disproportionately more water, when compared to other parts of the city.
Despite being in level two water restrictions since mid-December, water usage has been increasing over the last month across all areas of the city. However, Hamilton’s northern residents have each been using up to 200 litres per day more than those in other areas of the city, such as Dinsdale.
When based on litres per capita, the areas fed by the Rototuna reservoir show that each resident has been using between 500 and 600 litres per day in January so far, with some days well above the 600-litre mark.
“That’s a huge amount of water for one person to be using each day,” said Unit Manager of City Waters, Emily Botje.
Hamilton is currently in level two of the Smart Water restrictions, meaning sprinklers can be used on alternate days between 6am-8am and 6pm-8pm only. Continued high water use may see further restrictions in the coming weeks.
“There is a limit to how much we can take from the Waikato River each day under our resource consent, but also, there is a limit to how much our water treatment plant can process each day.
“I want to urge people, particularly those in the north of the city, to be mindful of how much water they are using as this long, dry summer is set to continue,” Boje said.
Council waters compliance staff are travelling around the city, monitoring usage, and notifying water wasters via letterbox drop. Concerned residents can also notify Council when they see someone breaking the rules through the Smart Water website, at smartwater.org.nz/being-water-smart/report-water-wasters/.
