Photo: Peter de Graaf/RNZ
All but essential water use has been banned in Dargaville as Northland’s big dry continues to worsen.
Under level 4 restrictions introduced this week, town supply water may be used only for drinking, cooking, washing clothes and showering.
All outdoor use is banned, including watering gardens, using sprinklers and washing cars.
The Kaipara District Council has also stopped water delivery trucks filling up from the town supply.
That means people in rural areas whose rainwater tanks run dry will have to buy water sourced from other areas, which is expected to bump up the already significant cost of water delivery.
Dargaville’s level 4 restrictions also apply to the nearby beachside settlement of Baylys Beach.
The fire risk also remains high across Northland, which has been subject to a total fire ban since Saturday, March 8.
The region is so dry, Fire and Emergency manager Wipari Henwood has urged Northlanders to avoid doing anything outdoors that could cause sparks, such as grinding, welding, mowing or using chainsaws.
Sparks from grinders caused two fires last week, with one at Awarua, south of Kaikohe, forcing the closure of a state highway and destroying a vacant school building.
A drought was declared across Northland, and other regions, on Friday.
The declaration unlocks government support for farmers and growers, including tax relief, and allows the Ministry of Social Development to consider granting rural assistance payments.
A Northland Regional Council rainfall map displaying extremely dry conditions in the western region in February.
Photo: Supplied / Northland Regional Council
A rainfall map produced by the Northland Regional Council shows western areas of Northland – around Dargaville in particular – received only about 5 percent of their median February rainfall last month.
Level 3 water restrictions are in force for homes and businesses connected to the Ōmanaia-Rāwene and Ōpononi-Ōmāpere water supplies in the Far North.
At level 3, hoses, outdoor sprinklers and irrigation systems are prohibited.
In Kawakawa-Moerewa, Kerikeri-Waipapa and Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi, restrictions are at level 2, which means outdoor sprinklers and irrigation systems are banned.
There are currently no water restrictions in the Whangārei District or in the Kaipara District other than Dargaville-Baylys Beach.
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