Water Watchers - Watching Tauranga's Water for Good

R. Orr (GHD Ltd), P. Bahrs and H. Sherratt (Tauranga City Council)

Flows in the source water streams that have provided a reliable source of water to Tauranga City since the early 1990’s began trending downward from late 2019 until this past summer (2022/23) due to historically low rainfall. These declining flows put significant pressure on Tauranga City Council’s (TCC) ability to supply water to meet high summer water demand.

A new approach prior to the 21/22 summer was needed due to source water stream flows reaching record lows. Hence TCC and GHD developed a new water restriction approach, the Water Watchers Plan, as a means of providing continuity of water supply and mitigating impacts on source water streams.

Key aspects of the Water Watchers Plan that differentiate it from traditional restriction approaches are:
(1) It is proactive plan – restriction periods and types are set in advance.
(2) It is a year-round plan – to acknowledge that water conservation/management is not something that should occur only in summer and/or at times of drought.
(3) It is more detailed and wider reaching than past restrictions – with separate plans for at home, at work and in the community.
(4) It includes an exemption process, allowing residents to submit a “Smart Water Plan”.

Many lessons were learnt in the development, communication and management of the Water Watchers Plan that will be of interest to other regions looking at their water restriction approaches.

Overall, the plan resulted in an estimated reduction in peak demand of approximately 19% compared to unrestricted; with an additional 5% of water savings (in spite of population growth of 3%) from the previous restricted summer. The plan has been approved by TCC’s commission through to 2026.