Water restrictions in the Thames Coromandel area have eased slightly.

Most areas are now on a sprinkler ban with the exception of Hahei which remains on a Total Watering Ban and Thames, where there are currently no restrictions.

Here are the current water restrictions in place in our district:

Hahei - Total Watering Ban: This means all use of water outside the house is banned. This includes watering lawns and gardens, washing cars, boats, houses, and decks, filling paddling pools and playing under sprinklers.

Coromandel Town, Matarangi, Whitianga, Tairua, Pauanui, Whangamata, Onemana - Sprinkler Ban: This means a total ban on the use of all sprinkler, unattended hoses and irrigation systems. Hand-held hoses can be used on alternate days: If your address is an even number you can use your hose on even numbered days, and vice versa for odd numbered houses.

Thames - No Restrictions.

"While the Christmas and New Year's holidays have passed, many visitors remain in the Coromandel and more will be visiting over the coming weeks," says the Thames Coromandel District Council.

"Water demand remains strong in all our communities and we ask that residents and visitors continue to comply with the restrictions and use water with restraint."

A reminder to residents and visitors that our Water Supply Bylaw took effect from Thursday 19 December, which means that boat washing is not allowed when we have water restrictions in place.

'Washing down a boat can use a lot of water, which is a challenge during peak summer periods when domestic water demand is high at the same time,” says Bruce Hinson, Operations Group Manager.

'Of course, we recognise it's summer, but we need people to be mindful and not waste water, we don't want to get into a situation where people are without water for essential purposes.

'Washing the boat down with a handheld hose when there's a water restriction in place is in the same category as restrictions for using a hose to water your garden.

'However, if it's just flushing out the boat's motor, that's not a problem, as it's considered ordinary use to keep the boat operating.”

Please report water wastage and water leaks to our Customer Services team on 07 868 0200