Auckland water shortage: Progress on Watercare s new Waikato River plant due to complete in June 2021 Council’s Water and Waste Water Manager Karl Pavlovich said water is a resource and it’s not a matter of finding it, treating it and supplying it. “We have to be careful with the amount we use and demonstrate that we’re using it responsibly,” he said. But “we can’t just sit on our hands and wait.” Morrinsville’s reservoir typically runs the risk of running dry during summer. It was the first town in the district to move into a complete water ban, while the North Island faced the large-scale adverse” drought in summer 2020.