My Account
Householders desperate for water to fill empty tanks have faced delays due to exceptionally bad traffic congestion.
Solway Artesian Water co-owner Christine Walker says the company has been forced to reduce water truck deliveries by six or seven loads a day over the Christmas/New Year period.
She says it’s common to get one big day of bad traffic at this time of year, but this year has “been the worst”, with traffic backed up several days in a row, particularly along Matakana Road.
She speculates several music festivals have contributed to the traffic problems.
When traffic is especially bad, the company reschedules deliveries, as it is uneconomic having trucks sitting idle in traffic.
Rhodes for Roads has experienced similar problems with traffic. Administrator Terri Ryder says Matakana and Omaha have been especially badly affected.
Congestion has prompted the company to refrain from using a water trailer for deliveries and instead rely entirely on trucks, because of the difficulty in negotiating the trailer through traffic.
Water supply companies say they are extremely busy but that is nothing unusual for this time of year and demand for water appears to be similar to last year.
When Mahurangi Matters checked last week, the waiting time for deliveries in the Mahurangi area was about five to 10 days, depending on location. Companies will usually prioritise a delivery if a household has run completely dry.
Ms Ryder says Omaha, Matakana and Leigh tend to go dry first, possibly because of the large number of holiday homes where occupants are often less savvy about saving water.
Aqua Filter Rodney master & commander Steve Reynolds says there are numerous things homeowners can do to conserve water. These include limiting showers to three minutes and standing in a large trunk-shaped bucket while showering. Water collected in the bucket can then be used on the garden.
Water from the rinse cycle of a washing machine can also be directed to a grey water tank and used on the garden, but Mr Reynolds says it’s important to use eco-friendly soaps in the machine, which are kinder to plants.
Garden hoses should be turned off at the house rather than relying on hose fittings, which often fail in the heat and can release gallons of water before the householder realises there is a problem.
Mr Reynolds says by being careful an average family of four during an average summer should be able to manage on two 25,000 litre rain water tanks without having to top up.
