Renwick water restrictions likely in December

Last updated 19:29, November 23 2015

Green-fingered Renwick residents bracing themselves for water restrictions this summer should let their lawns die to conserve water.

Marlborough District Council operations and maintenance engineer Stephen Rooney said the restrictions in Renwick would likely start next month.

The council would start managing the output from the wells in about 10 days if there was no rainfall.

"This may stave off the need for restrictions but residents will have to reduce demand voluntarily, especially peak demand late in the day if we are to avoid restrictions for a another few weeks after that," Rooney said.

Residents were warned to start conserving water in preparation.

"Let your lawn brown off. It will come back."

Renwick had three months of water restrictions from the end of January this year.

Aerial photographs taken by the council in February revealed some residents broke the restrictions, Rooney said.

"There were some extremely green lawns from folk ignoring the water restrictions.

The council would this summer do inspections but neighbours could report each other to council, he said.

As a last resort the council had powers to install water meters in homes that broke restrictions.

The council resorted to this in one Blenheim home in 2008 when a bore was shut off during the build of the water treatment plant, Rooney said.

"I had some dialogue with the resident on their front lawn and he changed his ways."

The council was unlikely to be forced to crack down too hard.

A close relationship with the Renwick Smart and Connected water user group was getting the message out, Rooney said.

"Think of what you are doing. Breaching a water restriction is detrimental to the water supply to your neighbour and your community."

Rooney advised people to mulch their plants and irrigate at the end of the day to cut evapotranspiration, or evaporation and plant transpiration.

"Unfortunately some folk use irrigation systems that waste a lot of water. They leave the hose running for an extensive period of time. The majority of water flows down concrete and kerbs."

Water user group chairman Budyong Hill said water restrictions were part and parcel of living in the township.

"We have to bite the bullet and accept that we live in Renwick and will have water restrictions each summer. It's up to us as a community to help conserve and be careful with our water use."

Resident were not keen on "dobbing in" neighbours who broke water restrictions, Hill said.

At a water meeting in Renwick in October council encouraged residents to get into the mindset of preparing for water restrictions.

"There are people that take notice and there are those, whatever you say, think the council is the big bogie man," Hill said.

Water restrictions were not the council's fault, Hill said.

The bores in Renwick were put in close to the edge of the Wairau aquifer during the 1970s when Renwick was a smaller community.

The aquifer was not as free flowing as further kilometres out, Hill said.

"The gravel is tight and when you draw a lot of water from the aquifer it creates a large 100-metre hallow. It can't recharge quickly enough to keep up with demand.

"You can't blame council for that. They did what was financially reasonable at that time for the ratepayers. If they were to have put in a gold-plated system then locals would have been up in arms."

The council hoped to develop three new wells at Conders Bend, which would provide a more reliable water source.

The wells were dug in 2007 but the council wanted to start pump testing next winter.

In the meantime, residents had to help themselves, Hill said.

"It's hard for people that love their lawn but let your lawn die. It will come back green.

"Careful watering can keep some of it green but you can't expect it to be a bowling green."

Residents should install more efficient watering systems such as drip irrigation or soaker hoses.

- The Marlborough Express

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