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Water Usage and Saving Water

Water | Leaks, Maintenance and Upgrades | Water Supply

Water Usage

The water usage totals in our Weekly Water Consumption Table are sourced from data from the New Plymouth Water Treatment Plant. The plant provides water for 26,000 homes and businesses from Urenui to Omata representing 90 per cent of water consumption for the region.

Water treatment plants

Water Saving Tips

Whether there is a dry spell or not, it is always a good idea to get into the water conservation habit and there are plenty of ways you can help conserve water.

In the garden

Check your garden’s soil moisture before watering. Dig 10cm into the soil and if the soil is moist at that depth, you don’t need to water.
Use a good mulch. This can prevent about 70 per cent evaporation loss while discouraging weeds, which compete for water. Mulch also improves the soil’s ability to hold water. The soil must be moist before applying mulch.
Water the garden only on calm days, during the evening or early morning to minimise evaporation.
Established plants should need only 30 minutes watering once or twice a week in dry weather, as long as the moisture can soak into the ground.
Water the roots (not the leaves) at a rate the soil can absorb without running off.
Hand watering and irrigation systems give good watering control.
Soak – don’t spray. A good soaking every third or fourth day during dry spells encourages the roots to go deeper into the soil, making the plant more able to survive drought.
If your lawn is hard and dry, use a product like SaturAde to help water sink into the ground so it can be used by the grass, rather than just running off the top and onto the pathway.
A dripper pipe system is an efficient watering method. Moveable sprinkler systems are the least efficient method.
If you’re using a sprinkler, use a timer set to 30 minutes. A forgotten sprinkler with no timer can waste more than 1,000L of water every hour.
Use native plants that are adapted to your local climate.
Save grey water for garden use.Return to top

While you’re outside

Use a bucket and brush when you wash the car and the house windows, not a hose.
When filling swimming pools, avoid filling them to the top to minimise wastage through water slopping over the sides.
Cover your swimming pool – you’ll stop the water evaporating.
Don’t hose down or water-blast paths or hard-surface areas.
Consider collecting and storing rainwater for use in the garden or in the toilet system.Return to top

Indoors

Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator so you don’t waste water running the tap to cool the water down.
Fix dripping taps. A steady drip of two drops a second wastes 100L a week.
If you wash your dishes by hand, don’t leave the water running when rinsing them.
Don’t leave water running while you clean vegetables. Put the plug in the sink.
Use full loads in your dishwasher and washing machine whenever possible, or use the half-load switch. You’ll save as much as 125L per full wash.
When buying a new washing machine, consider a front-loading type. They use less water, power and soap powder. You’ll save around 50L per wash.
Turn off the tap when shaving or brushing your teeth.
Install water-saving shower heads or flow restrictors. Many shower heads put out 20L of water a minute, while 10L is enough.
Keep bath levels to a minimum.
Install a flush-saving device on your toilet cistern, or put a 2L bottle of water in the cistern to reduce its volume. Return to top

Commercial properties

Purchase urinal control valves. These can save 86-96 per cent of your firm’s annual water consumption.