As we move into autumn and the dry weather recedes a bit, our team have been keeping an eye on the levels in our water sources, and made the decision on Monday to move the district from level 2 to level 1 water restrictions.

While the recent rain has been great for refilling our water sources, it can also muddy the waters and slow production of treated water in our water treatment plants. 

Over in Morrinsville, we are anticipating the Topehaehae reservoir (Waterworks Road) turning over as temperatures drop. 'Turning over' is when environmental factors (in this case temperature) cause layers to mix and change places. This worsens the raw water quality for a time while the layers settle. In turn, this puts pressure on our treatment plants and slows production of treated water.

With these factors in mind, we will be keeping level 1 water restrictions in place across the disctrict for now. Just a quick reminder of what that means:

• Sprinklers and garden irrigation systems between 6-8am and 6-8pm only.
• Watering by hand anytime.
• Please don't leave hoses unattended.