Forecast beyond reasonable drought

by Rosemary Roberts | 1st December 2009

 Northland is drying out rapidly as weather pattern El Nino settles in for a lengthy summer stay.

Kaitaia, Kerikeri, Kaikohe and Whangarei have experienced the driest November on record. Just 6mm of rain was recorded at Whangarei airport - 7 per cent of the average and the lowest November rainfall since a rain gauge was set up there in 1937.

Hundreds of thousands of litres of water are already being delivered daily in the eastern and northern parts of Northland.

Water delivery firms have waiting lists and are working long hours to meet demand, charging from $230 to around $5000 for 10,000 litres depending on distance travelled.

Julie Kevey of Whangarei-based Water 2 Go says the firm is delivering up to 160,000 litres a day, tanking up on town supply water at an Okara Park pumping station. William King, co-owner of Far North-based Coolstar Water Carriers Ltd is pulling 20,000 litres a trip and says it's the busiest he has been in the four years he has been  in the business.

Whangarei District Council and Northland Regional Council officials are not using the word "drought" but say they will soon be urging people to conserve water.  A few weeks ago, scientists from the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) noted a moderate El Nino was hovering around the equatorial Pacific and predicted Northland was in for a mild version of El Nino's trademark dry and cool summer conditions, lasting for at least
another two months.

But  senior NIWA climate scientist Georgina Griffiths says El Nino has "ramped up".

"There has been a big intensification over the past two weeks," she said yesterday.

Rainfall in the area from Whangarei harbour north to Whangaroa had been extremely low, she said. The area had  on average 10mm for the whole of November, which was just 10 to 15 per cent of average November rain falls.

Northland Regional Council water resources/hydrology programme manager Dale Hansen says a 23-year-old rain gauge
in the Waitangi river catchment north of Kawakawa recorded its lowest November rainfall -
just 10mm.

 
 A gauge in the Puhipuhi hills north-east of Hikurangi, recorded 18mm for November compared to the usual fall of 120mm. It was the lowest rainfall recorded there since 1982, and before that, 1945. 
 
 

The west coast of Northland was less affected,  he said.

Whangarei water services manager Andrew Venmore said the two big Whangarei district dams, Whau Valley and Wilson's, were are in good shape. He said this could change  as streams - also a source of district water - dry up.

 He  said there were  no restrictions in place but  the WDC would urge people to be careful with water use.

 Whangarei fire safety officer Craig Bain said it was essential for people to keep water tanks well-filled in case of fire.