Metropolitan Wellington to ease sprinkler ban, watering restrictions remain
From Friday 9 February, the ban on using garden sprinklers in Wellington, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt and Porirua will be lifted. Garden watering restrictions will still be in effect.
The four cities have been under a sprinkler ban that was introduced at the end of a particularly dry November.
Thanks to the response from the community, and in spite of a record hot January, the region’s storage lakes are now in good shape to last for the remainder of summer.
This means restrictions can now be eased to allow for the limited use of garden sprinklers and irrigation systems.
This is a good position to be in, but it’s important that people keep being responsible with water usage.
Sprinklers are actually a relatively wasteful way to water plants, and their use is limited by the garden watering restrictions still in place.
These allow the use of a single sprinkler or irrigation system, between the hours of 6-8 am and 7-9pm only on alternate days according to your house number.
Sprinkler use permitted at:
- odd-numbered houses on odd dates (1st, 3rd, 15th etc)
- even-numbered houses on even dates (2nd, 4th, 18th etc)
only between the hours of 6-8am and 7-9pm.
This restriction level will remain in place until further notice, or the end of Daylight Savings (1 April 2018) – except in Upper Hutt, where this restriction remains in place all year round.
We’d also like to remind people that the easing of restrictions is a good time to check and refill any emergency water storage containers, or to install an emergency tank if you don’t have one yet.
Tips for good watering practice:
- Use a trigger or wand to ensure water goes only where it’s needed
- Concentrate watering on the roots of plants not the leaves
- Use mulch to keep moisture in and weeds out
Poll: Is it rude to talk on the phone on a bus?
Buses can be a relaxing way to get home if you have a seat and enough space. However, it can be off-putting when someone is taking a phone call next to you.
Do you think it's inconsiderate for people to have lengthy phone calls on a bus? Vote in the poll, and add your comments below.
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65.3% Yes
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32.3% No
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2.4% Other - I'll share below
International Volunteer Managers Day
Yesterday marked International Volunteer Managers Day. So throughout this week we will be spotlighting several amazing volunteer managers from across the Wellington region.
Liv has recently started managing a diverse team of volunteers at The Free Store Wellington. Here are some words about what she loves about her role!
OCTOBER'S WEATHER IN KĀPITI
This third spring month in Kāpiti was milder and sunnier than average, and for three weeks we also seemed to be heading for a record dry one, but rain here and over most of the country on the last week changed that.
We ended up with 110mm of rain (airport), but this was only 12mm above the historic average for this month that is frequently our wettest. Despite the rain, we had the equivalent of 15.5 sunny days, slightly above average.
Our daily average maximum temperature was 17.8, almost 0.4C above average and 0.7C above last year, and our overall mean temperature was 14.2C, 1.3C above last year, and the warmest in central New Zealand.
November could average around 20C, as it often does, so we can look forward to the possibility of enjoying our first summer month.
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