9 Jan 2019

Waimea Plains water restrictions due to start next week

3:32 pm on 9 January 2019

The Tasman District Council plans to impose stage-one water restrictions on the Waimea Plains from Monday.

Farmers and growers argue that a dam will help solve increasing water shortages in rural Tasman.

Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal

Its dry-weather taskforce said the Wairoa and Waimea rivers had dropped because of dry conditions and higher water demand

Tasman District Council spokesperson Dennis Bush-King said stage-one rationing would be introduced for urban users and most users on the plains.

The restriction will mean a 20 percent cut in water allocated under consent.

Mr Bush-King said the Wai-iti zone in Wakefield was also very dry, but water would be released from the Kainui Dam from Friday.

A minimum of 50 millimetres of rain was needed to ease the dry conditions, he said.

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