Dry weather water management

Dry summer sees reactivation of Rotorua Focus Zone

Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff will increase water flow monitoring of several Rotorua Focus Zone streams as the area moves into Level 1 of a Water Shortage Event.

Regional Council Water Shortage Event Manager Steve Pickles said water flows in the Paraiti (Mangorewa), Waiari and Ngongotahā streams in particular are continuing to decline due to dry conditions. These streams all have their headwaters originating from the west and north of Lake Rotorua.

The Rotorua Focus Zone, which includes streams with their headwaters in the Mamaku ranges, was established last summer when some of the lowest-ever stream flows were recorded in the area.

“We’ve entered the summer period with lingering drought conditions from the previous two years’ low rainfall,” said Mr Pickles.

“Raising the alert level for these streams to Level 1 signals to water users in the Rotorua Focus Zone that there could be a need for intervention if dry conditions continue. Water restrictions for consented water users would only occur if the area moved to Level 3.

“Regional Council staff are now increasing monitoring of the streams and will be contacting consented water users in the zone to advise them of the elevated alert level.”

Mr Pickles said rainfall over the next three months is forecasted to be near average however, due to the current La Niña conditions, rain is expected to fall in heavy bursts with long dry periods in-between.

Regular periods of steady rain will likely be needed to halt the Rotorua Focus Zone streams’ declining trend.

If the alert level is raised to Level 3, Regional Council may have to impose water restrictions on users to ensure the health and mauri of the streams and the wildlife they support from harm are maintained.

“As advised last year, water users need to be preparing and planning for water restrictions if the dry weather conditions continue. In the meantime everyone, including rural, urban and commercial users, can do their part by making sure they are using water efficiently and not wasting it,” said Mr Pickles.

There are four alert levels, Alert Level 0 no water shortage concerns, Alert Level 1 reducing water availability, Alert Level 2 impending water shortage and Alert Level 3 water shortage event.

The rest of the Bay of Plenty remains in Alert Level 0.

ENDS

For  further media information, please contact media@boprc.govt.nz 

Map showing the Rotorua Focus Zone. 

Regional council keeps eye on rivers

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Toi Moana is keeping a close eye on river and groundwater levels as we head into summer off the back of two very dry years.

The last two summers have seen some streams in the Bay of Plenty reach their lowest ever recorded flows, but Water Shortage Event Manager Steve Pickles said there may be some relief this year.

Weather predictions show that rainfall this coming summer is expected to be normal and after some recent rainy weather we are already experiencing a promising increase in some river flows.

“Most of our rivers are in a healthy state as we enter summer but we are carefully watching the streams flowing from the Kaimai and Mamaku ranges which have experienced very low flows this year,” said Mr Pickles.

Groundwater levels are stable when compared to last year but will likely decrease heading into summer.

“Groundwater follows a seven-to-10-year recharge cycle and we appear to be in a lower recharge cycle at the moment,” said Mr Pickles.

“In areas where there is lower rainfall, we may see some shallow wells drying up and smaller streams and springs with reduced flow.”

The Regional Council is responsible for caring for the region’s waterways and ensuring people’s use of water is sustainable and has ongoing monitoring in place to check that healthy base flow levels are maintained in the region’s rivers, streams and aquifers.

“In dry summers, we do extra monitoring to ground-truth automatic gauges and check on smaller waterways where we don’t have live monitoring in place,” said Mr Pickles.

“There are many tools we at the Regional Council can employ to protect the mauri of the water but across the region, everybody can also do their part to help to care for local waterways.

“Water users should check for leaks in their systems, and take steps to always use water as efficiently as possible to avoid wasting it.”

For further media information, please contact media@boprc.govt.nz 

Risk of water restrictions eased

Streams with catchments in the headwaters to the west-southwest of Rotorua, a 60,000-hectare area known as the Rotorua Focus Zone, have been experiencing very low flows throughout the first half of this year.

During this period, both the Paraiti and Ngongotahā streams have at times recorded their lowest ever flows since permanent monitoring began.

After the rain events in June, Toi Moana has made the decision to move back to Level 1.

There are three alert levels to a dry weather event – Level 1: normal water availability, Level 2: impending water shortage, and Level 3: water shortage event.

Unless there is significant rain over the next few months, the region will likely head into the summer of 2021/22 in a worse starting position that last year. So water users taking water from streams and rivers should be planning for possible restrictions for the future.