Restrictions on water in the Whakatane District have been reduced to a voluntary conservation level, after what has been a dry summer in the region.

The reduction means restrictions on hose and sprinkler use have been lifted, but council is still asking residents to be cautious with their water usage.

'This will help to keep consumption at a reasonable level,” says Whakatane District Council public affairs manager Ross Boreham.

'The major influence on the need for restrictions is the flow rate in the Whakatane River, which was running at 119 cubic metres per second this morning.

'While that's well above the level that would see salt water intrusion limiting the water treatment intake for the Whakatane and Ohope communities, the flow rate is dropping fast, virtually halving in the last 24 hours alone.”

The reduction comes after salt water intrusion forced a ban on sprinkler and hose usage, on alternate days during the week.

'Council Three Waters staff will continue to closely monitor river conditions and will take a proactive approach to water restrictions, as required.”

Some simple ways to conserve water are:

• Bucket-wash cars or boats, if possible
• Don't refill or top-up swimming pools
• If you know you have leaking taps, fix them now
• If you see a leaking water line, report it to the Council as soon as possible
• Flush toilets sparingly
• Avoid using your bath and cut your shower time down as much as possible
• While waiting for hot water to flow through to showers or taps, catch the unused water in a bucket for use in washing machines or for other purposes.