Tom Lee/Stuff
Dry fields as far as the eye can see near Te Awamutu. The long range forecast from NIWA indicates long periods of dry, warm weather continuing through April.
A dried-up district in Waikato is moving to a level three water restriction, and unless steady rainfall tops up the local catchment an increase to level four could be just weeks away.
The Matamata-Piako District move to level three on Thursday, March 4, meaning a district-wide sprinkler ban will be in force for all water users – Te Aroha, Matamata, Morrinsville, Te Poi, Tahuna, Waharoa and Hinuera.
Without significant rain to replenish water supplies, Matamata-Piako District Council’s water and wastewater manager Karl Pavlovich said council needs everyone to conserve as much water as possible, so the district can get through the coming months.