It's Raining, It's Pouring!

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Aucklander’s told to reduce water use

March 13, 2017

People in Auckland are being asked to reduce their water usage over the next three weeks after floods affected water treatment capacity at the city’s largest water treatment plant.

Around half of Auckland’s water comes from four water storage dams in the Hunua Ranges – where flash flooding took place after heavy rain late last week and over the weekend.

Aucklanders are being asked to reduce their water consumption by 20 litres per day over the coming weeks until the silt in the dams settle.

Because of the flash flooding, the Ardmore Water Treatment Plant was treating about 50 per cent less water than usual.

That was because much of the water now contained a lot of silt from slips – giving the water a muddy hue and therefore making it more difficult to treat.

WAYS YOU CAN SAVE WATER –

• Cut your shower time by two minutes.

• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.

• Use half-flush when flushing toilet.

• Only run your dishwasher when full

• Only run washing machine when full

Flooding in the North Island

March 9, 2017

Torrential downpours have caused widespread flooding and power cuts in the upper North Island.

Flooding in Coromandel after a night of torrential rain is the worst in more than a decade, the head of civil defence says.

Coromandel civil defence said there is widespread flooding in Whangamata, Hikuai, Tairua and Pauanui.

Emergency evacuation centres have been set up in the Coromandel after heavy rain caused flooding in the area.

Multiple parts of roads on the Coromandel Peninsula are closed due to flooding including from Kopu to Thames, and north of Whangamata to Opoutere.

Thames Coromandel District Council is advising people to stay off the roads if possible.

Water supplies in the Coromandel have also been affected. Power outages and heavy rain have put the pump stations at some wastewater treatment plants under pressure.

People have been asked not to flush toilets if they can help it in Tairua, Pauanui, Onemana and Whangamata.

Near Auckland a police car has been hit by a flash flood and washed off the road into a swollen creek, stranding an officer on top of the vehicle.

Nearly 200 children and adults from two schools have been evacuated from waist-deep floodwaters at camps overnight in Auckland’s Hunua Ranges.