Earlier this week Ranfurly residents were told to boil all water for drinking and preparing food, as the town’s reservoir was critically low which could compromise drinking-water safety.
Yesterday Central Otago District Council water services manager Ian Evans said there had been a drop in demand for water in Ranfurly and the water reservoir levels were holding steady.
However, residents still needed to boil water, and even when that was lifted water restrictions would continue for some time as the long, hot summer was not showing any signs of letting up, Mr Evans said.
Omakau and Naseby residents were urged to conserve water as much as possible to avoid drastic restrictions being needed.
The council was sending a water tanker to the Central Otago A&P Show, at Omakau, today for show-goers to use for their water bottles.
Maniototo Irrigation Company general manager Jeremy Anderson said its water supply was unaffected and the company had actually released water into the Taieri River to help maintain minimum flow requirements.
The company used 25%-30% of its storage capacity each year, which was what was usually recharged over the winter.
What would happen next was hard to anticipate. Long, dry spells were not unprecedented in Central Otago, Mr Anderson said.
The company would be reviewing the dam storage level in the spring, he said.
Figures from Niwa show January was the fourth driest in Ranfurly since records began in 1897; just 13mm of rain had been recorded.
The way the message about conserving and boiling water was delivered caused some frustration in Ranfurly this week. Some residents thought the channels by which the information was conveyed were inadequate.
The council had used local radio and print media, social media and signage, as well as telephoning businesses.
Council community and engagement manager Paula Penno said another key tool was the Get Ready email and text system.
It helped keep residents informed by sending emails and texts, as well as inviting them to offer help in an emergency.
The Get Ready system did not supersede the national emergency alerts — which were pushed through cell towers — but supplemented them by providing more detailed, local information, Ms Penno said.
Civil defence emergency management adviser Derek Shaw would be at the Central Otago A&P show today to help people register for the system.
Otago Regional Council acting regulatory general manager Joanna Gilroy echoed the call to conserve water.
The Niwa forecast for coming weeks is for Otago’s weather to be dryer than in previous years.
The nearest ORC monitoring sites to Ranfurly were on the Kye Burn and the Taieri at Waipiata, she said.
The Kye Burn was at its lowest since April 2020 and the Taieri, at Waipiata, was at its lowest since February 2018.
Of the lakes monitored by ORC, eight sites were above their median levels and four were below.
