Members of the public have expressed concerns over constant outdoor water use at Bayfair Shopping Centre's development site, as they believe it contradicts recent water restrictions put in place by the council.

However, a Bayfair spokesperson says the water is from private bore, unconnected to the city's water supply.

'The water being used for dust control on the site is bore water provided by two pumps. This is not coming from the city's water supply.

'Instead, the water is being sourced from the ground and returned to the ground.”

She says Bayfair takes the water restrictions in place seriously and is committed to saving water.

'The centre's grey and rainwater harvesting system has reduced consumption of potable water by 2.5 million litres since it was installed in 2014.”

Tauranga City Council water manager Steve Burton confirms the council has had several queries about the matter.

'We've had a few people asking about the Bayfair extension construction site, mainly through our social media pages. We've also received one complaint through our call centre.

'The contractors have their own water bore on site and are not using any water from the city supply. They're using the bore water to supress the dust created by the construction.”

He says the city's water restrictions are still in force and will be ‘for the foreseeable future'.

'We've still got the hottest, driest period of summer ahead of us, so we all need to continue to be mindful of our water use.”