Crowds flock to Northland to enjoy summer holidays, but water restrictions have been announced, as dry conditions and the influx strain local resources.
Photo: Supplied/ Northland Regional Council

Water restrictions are being ramped up across much of the Far North, as continued dry weather and an influx of holidaymakers strain the district’s dwindling rivers.

Level 2 water restrictions, which ban the use of outdoor sprinklers and irrigation systems, will be imposed on households connected to Kerikeri-Waipapa and Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi water supplies from Monday 13 January.

In Ōmanaia-Rāwene and Ōpononi-Ōmāpere, restrictions will be raised from the current level 2 to level 3, also from Monday.

Under level 3, even hand-held hoses are banned.

The next step up would be level 4, in which water can be used only for essential health and hygiene purposes, such as cooking and washing.

The heightened restrictions come just as the Far North prepares for another big influx of visitors during Anniversary Weekend and Waitangi Day.

The Far North District Council said the level 2 restrictions in Kerikeri-Waipapa and Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi were a “precautionary move”, due to ongoing dry conditions and no forecast of significant rain.

Puketotara Stream, one of two water sources serving Kerikeri-Waipapa, and the Waitangi River, which supplied Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi, were both significantly lower than at the same time last year.

A treatment plant drawing from the Waitangi River supplies water to Paihia, Ōpua and Waitangi, where the population explodes in summer.
Photo: RNZ/ Peter de Graaf

Streams supplying water in the South Hokianga towns of Rāwene, Ōmanaia, Ōpononi and Ōmāpere were small and highly sensitive to fluctuations in rainfall, the council said.

Water restrictions in Kawakawa-Moerewa remained unchanged at level 2, while no restrictions applied to households in Kaitāia, Kaikohe and Ōkaihau.

Elsewhere in Northland, households in Dargaville and Baylys Beach, in the Kaipara District, have been under strict level 3 water restrictions since 23 December.

There the issue has become political, with the Kaipara District Council under fire from groups such as the Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents Association, who say regular water shortages in summer are the result of a lack of planning.

There are currently no water restrictions in the Whangārei District.

Rainfall maps published by the Northland Regional Council showed the region was significantly drier than usual in spring 2024, especially in the north and east. Summer data has yet to be published.

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