Water Watchers, the year-round plan for managing water in Tauranga, has been approved by Tauranga City Council to remain through to 2026.

Community feedback and learnings from last summer has seen some revisions, including extra allowance for watering vegetable gardens and a shorter peak water restriction period.

The Water Watchers Plan was launched in 2021 to proactively manage outdoor water use in Tauranga – at home, at work, and in the community.

Grouped into months, the plan restricts outdoor water use such as sprinklers, water blasters, filling pools and more, either outright or at certain times of the day, with restrictions increasing from December 1.

Water demand in Tauranga grows up to 30 per cent over the hotter summer months, driven primarily by outdoor use.

Last summer the implementation of the Water Watchers Plan helped to reduce this peak and ensure that the city could remain sustainably supplied.

Water Services manager Peter Bahrs says it's important to learn from last summer as well as listening to the community's feedback.

'As part of this we acknowledge the value of vegetable gardens, especially during the current cost of living challenges facing our community, and as a result we've amended the plan to allow for watering of vegetable gardens using low volume micro irrigation systems.

'We have also made various changes to account for other sectors of the community that use water.”

Water use in the construction industry is now included in the At Work plan and encourages commercial users to consider alternate water sources and apply for a Smart Water Plan for water use over 1000 litres per day.

Another change to the Water Watchers Plan will see the most stringent water restrictions easing a month earlier in 2023, at the end of February instead of March.

This is in part due to the anticipated opening of the Waiāri water treatment plant as well as increased rainfall over the winter and spring that has helped our source water streams.

'The Waiāri Water Supply Scheme has been designed to meet water demand now, and over at least the next 30 years. There will be more water available for Tauranga with the sustainable threshold for the city increasing from 50 to 55 million litres per day for the 2022/23 summer,” says Peter.

'But that's not an invitation to increase use, in fact quite the opposite. As a rapidly growing city we must adjust to changing environmental challenges by following good water conservation practices all year round.”

Despite recent rain the Tautau Stream remains a concern. Stream flows still haven't fully recovered and are still feeling the effects of years of dry summers.

As a community we need to appreciate that we are all sharing what's available and make sure we're not taking more water than nature can supply - so this summer keep an eye on the city's water usage dashboard to see how we are tracking,” says Peter.

For more about Water Watchers and to see the at home, at work, and in the community plans visit https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/council/water-services/water-watchers.