Aucklanders are being warned again about curtailing water use as the needle moves from green to red.
Photo: 123rf.com
Watercare's live water usage tracker monitors usage over a week and with the needle on the edge of the red zone, it reflects a dramatic spike in use since outdoor water restrictions were relaxed.
Watercare head of servicing and consents Mark Bourne said residential properties had been asked to not use sprinklers or water irrigation systems.
"The only real outdoor use that's available is the use of a handheld hose providing we stand there and attend it and have a trigger nozzle attached.
"The level of restrictions remain quite severe across the region."
He told Morning Report that Watercare meters showed the amount of water being sent out to homes and also received in the wastewater system, and found most of the water was being used for irrigation.
"We want people to be able to use water but the message is just continue to use it wisely."
Dam levels were just over 70 percent full as of this morning, lower than they are typically this time of year.
"Over the winter Aucklanders saved seven billion litres of water ... that's a colossal amount of water."
He said another 30m litres of water a day were being brought in from new sources.
