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Huge Wai Warrior water savings over summer

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PUBLISHED: 20 APR 2023
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In the first three months of 2023 New Plymouth District residents saved a whopping 293 million litres or 117 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water – an 8 per cent drop on the same time last year.

The results follow the completion of NPDC’s annual Wai Water programme which sees water restrictions in place between 1 January and 31 March.  

These conservation measures included using hand-held hoses on the odds and evens system and not using sprinklers or unattended hoses.

“Thank you to everyone who did their bit to save water this summer, which when combined with average weather in January and February has led to a good result,” says NPDC Manager Three Waters Mark Hall.

“That’s 117 Olympic-sized pools more water that stayed in our streams and less money spent on treatment at our plants.”

But it’s not the time to become complacent as while water use is reducing, New Plymouth District residents are still among the thirstiest in the country, with each resident using an average of 304-litres of water a day. 

“We can all make small positive changes to our water habits throughout the year which will make a significant difference overall,” says Mark.

One of the other ways NPDC aims to help residents manage their water use is with residential water meters, which are currently being rolled out across the district.  About 5,000 or 20 per cent of meters have been installed so far.

Great water-saving tips are available online at npdc.govt.nz/WaiWarrior.

 

Fast facts:

  • There are four separate water supplies in the district: New Plymouth (which includes Omata, Bell Block, Waitara and Urenui), Inglewood, Ōākura and Ōkato.
  • Combined, these facilities supply approximately 28 million litres of water per day to just under 28,000 homes and businesses.
  • New Plymouth residents currently consume 15 per cent more water per person, per day than the national average.

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Page last updated: 10:03am Thu 20 April 2023

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