Water Restrictions

Did you know that Wellington Region’s daily water supply is finite, with many areas – including Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt – at risk of serious water shortages this summer?

This problem is being caused by a combination of leaks in our aging water network, population growth, and the fact that we use on average more water than any other metropolitan region in Aotearoa New Zealand - we’re using and losing more water than ever before.

In winter, when there's plenty of rain and the river levels are healthy, Wellington Water can supply up to 220 million litres of water per day. In summer, when it’s hot and dry, river levels drop. This means that supplied water can go down to 170 million litres of water per day, but across Wellington Region we could be using up to 205 million litres per day in summer and dipping into our stored water!

Be prepared:

• Make sure you have a household plan and have access to a portable water tank if possible. Any big containers for liquids (such as 2-litre plastic bottles) are ideal for storing water just in case.
• Be mindful of your water usage. Think about the small changes you can make to save water. The more we’re able to save now, the less likely we will need to look at additional restrictions.

We're working hard with Wellington Water to fix leaks across the city. Seen one? Make sure to report it via hutt.city/rap so we can get it fixed.

You can view a full breakdown of how many leaks the team are fixing around Wellington here

• We’re focussed on renewing ageing pipes as quickly as practically possible, bringing forward work where we can. 1,747 leaks have been fixed in Lower Hutt since 1 July 2023, with 5,176 across the region in total (as of 19 February 2024).
• We renewed 14.5km of pipes in 2022/23. A significant increase from averaging 4km in previous years.
• In this year’s 10 Year Plan we’re looking to make a big increase to our investment in drinking, waste and storm water which includes pipe renewal.

Not everyone is able to store a large 200L water tank at home. Thankfully, there are lots of other ways you can store emergency water:

• You can prepare your own containers of water in soft-drink bottles. Don’t use plastic jugs or cardboard containers that have had milk in them. Milk protein cannot be removed from these containers. Just be sure to keep the bottles free of wear-and-tear.
• You can also fill plastic ice cream containers with water. Label them and keep them in the freezer. These can help keep food cool if the power is off and can also be used for drinking.
• You can purchase special plastic containers from hardware stores. The bottles are designed for easy pouring, and you can fill them to the top so that no air is trapped - helping to keep the water fresh.
• If you choose to buy commercially bottled water, store it in the original sealed container. Do not open it until you need to use it. Observe and replace according to the expiration or use-by date.

Kitchen
Dishwashers don’t use as much water as you might think, but leaving a high-pressure kitchen tap running can use up to 12 litres per minute.    

Skip the pre-rinse - scrape off food into the compost/bin instead.  

Handwashing your dishes? Fill your sink rather than washing under a running tap.

Rinsing out recycling when needed is vital, and you save water when you use dirty water (e.g. from washing dishes) or stick them in the dishwasher where possible.

Laundry
A washing machine can use more than 120 litres of water per load! Cutting down your use is simple.

Only do full loads of laundry.

Be an outfit repeater! Got an outfit with no visible stains? If it passes the sniff test, hang it up and wear it again later in the week.  

If you’re in the market for a new washing machine, front-loaders can use significantly less water.  

Garden and Outdoors
Hand watering:
Add mulch (old leaves or grass clippings after mowing) to your garden. This helps stop wind and sun drying out the soil, cutting evaporation by up to 70% and puts nutrients back in the soil.

The middle of the day is when the sun is hottest – and evaporation happens fast. Water in the early morning or evening, so your garden gets the maximum benefit.  

In dry weather, check your garden every 4-7 days. If your soil is moist 10cm below the surface, don’t worry about watering. Water close to the ground at a rate the soil can absorb. Slow watering and not over-watering your garden is important.  

When you're using your hose, make sure that you're not spraying your paths or fences.

Bathroom
One minute in the shower can use up to 18 litres of water. Keep it quick in the shower (about as long as a song) and make every minute count, with an efficient shower head. Find them at your local hardware store.

Brushing your teeth? Turn off the tap! A bathroom tap uses around 6 litres of water per minute.

Toilet:
Stick to the half-flush and save the full flush for when you really, really need it.  

If your whānau or flatmates don’t mind, ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow’.

Ignoring that slow drip in the loo? It could be using up to 28 litres of wai per day – get it checked out by a plumber.  Not sure if there’s a leak? Put a few drops of food colouring in the cistern. If the colouring appears in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak (you may need to wait an hour or two for the food colouring to leak into the bowl).

Find out more about water restrictions on the Wellington Water website.