Infrastructure

Residents are expected to stop using sprinklers and irrigation systems under the restrictions as the area faces dry weather and increasing demand in water use.

A Lower Hutt resident hopes Wellington Water is doing enough to rid the area of the foul stench emanating from a wastewater treatment plant.

Beachgoers are being warned not to swim or collect shellfish.

It will take up four days of fine weather to reduce the risk to swimmers from sewage runoff after heavy rains last week, a freshwater scientist says.

Telcos are reporting their customers used over 2500 terabytes of data on Christmas Day and Boxing Day alone.

A former Port Marlborough chairperson and councillor says it came as no surprise the government called time-out on the Cook Strait ferries.

The summer forecast is for more northwesterly winds than normal throughout the country, and dry weather in the east.

The government may still need to pay if it wants a resilient ferry connection between both the main islands, says the Maritime Union.

New modelling shows there is now a 33 percent chance of the region seeing an acute water shortage this summer - and that would mean level 4 water restrictions.

The advice comes as the region is preparing for the possibility of severe water restrictions.

Locals are questioning the quality of bitumen used to repair the roads, disagreeing it could be weather-related. Audio

The Gore District Council will write to central government to outline what one councillor has described as the "funding impossibilities" now confronting them.

State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyn Hills will be closed for nine weeks next year to allow for critical repair work.

Waka Kotahi is committed to undertaking the work on 3650 hectares of native bush - in perpetuity - as part of the $280 million Mt Messenger Bypass in Taranaki.

The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has signalled how much it will fund towards fixing and improving roads in the Marlborough Sounds.

New Zealand is being warned it is heading toward a tragedy if more is not invested in council infrastructure, and that double-digit rates increases should be expected.