* New $3.85m Renwick water plant in the pipeline * Social media helps turn taps off * Worries rise to the surface as meter proposal extended in Marlborough Renwick has faced water restrictions for years, with past advice encouraging odd-numbered houses to water their gardens on odd-numbered days, and even-numbered houses on even-numbered days.
His garden was also watered at night by hand to help offset evaporation, which occurred more during the day, he said.
Councillor Cynthia Brooks, who lived in Renwick, said she saved water by having short showers, avoiding baths, and "flushing the loo only when needed".
Long-time Renwick resident Lois Johnson agreed, saying a water restriction was "not a big surprise" considering Renwick’s history of water conservation.
Kersey said he was "conscious of the water issue" and restrained from turning on his sprinkler during the day, and instead opted to water the garden for 30 minutes at 9pm.
He said the council would have to reduce the volume of water being taken from wells if levels dipped to between 1000mm and 800mm.
"At present, the daily bore water level drops about 100mm a day, so towards the end of this week I expect we will have to reduce what we take from the bores," he said.
"When we reduce what we take from the bores, we need a corresponding reduction in peak demand.
"If people can reduce their water use now, we can avoid water restrictions later."
Construction on its new reservoir on the outskirts of town was set to kick off in the coming months, and would be followed by a new water treatment plant down the track.

The rain is set to return this week but only in the form of light showers, the KNMI weather bureau said on Monday.
Monday itself will be largely sunny although there may be showers in the south.
Cloud will gather overnight and the rest of the week will be overcast, with temperatures around 14 degrees, the KNMI said.
Rain is more likely nationwide towards the end of the week.
Despite the showers since the end of September, the drought is still widespread in the Netherlands and the water level in the river Rhine has fallen to its lowest ever level – just 6.61 metres above NAP at the Lobith measuring station on the German border.
This has led to major problems for inland shipping companies which have been forced to cut the amount of goods carried by barges so they are not so low in the water.
Last week, three ships ran aground.
NAP stands for Normaal Amsterdams Peil or the normal water level in Amsterdam, which is slightly lower than sea level.
NAP is used as a base to measure how high or low water levels are.

Irish Water warns new restrictions may still be needed unless usage drops The drought could be over, according to Met Éireann, which has forecast scattered showers across the country by the end of the week, after more than 20 days without significant rain.
Met Éireann says that cloud will thicken on Tuesday evening and that by Wednesday showers will spread across the northern half of the island, which will have top temperatures of 17 to 20 degrees in the coming days.
Over Munster and south Leinster top temperatures will reach 21 to 23 degrees.
Winds will be light northeasterly and moderate near coasts.
Top temperatures of 22 to 25 degrees, but slightly cooler in the north and northwest with highs of 18 to 21 degrees.
Temperatures will reach 18 to 23 degrees in light northerly or variable breezes.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 24 degrees on Saturday, which is likely to start mostly dry, with sunny spells or hazy sunshine; cloud will increase from the west, with scattered showers spreading eastwards later and overnight.
Winds will become light to moderate southwest to westerly.
Sunday will be somewhat cloudier, with outbreaks of showery rain in light to moderate southwesterly winds.
In Dublin the UV index will be high on Tuesday, so protection against direct sunshine should be worn.

The next two weeks might be some of the best spring weather of the year.
Scattered showers and T-Storms roam southern Minnesota into Wednesday morning.
5:48pm CDT #SPC_Watch WW 60 SEVERE TSTM IA MN WI 012245Z – 020700Z, #iawx #mnwx #wiwx, https://t.co/JSh669bXIT pic.twitter.com/usnT93qY1u — NWS SPC (@NWSSPC) May 1, 2018 Farther north toward the Twin Cities, there is a marginal risk one or two storms could approach severe limits (1″ diameter hail, 58 mph winds) overnight.
Our weather pattern is trending dry overall for the next two weeks.
But I have a hunch we may be hearing the D-word (drought) tossed around soon.
Most of Minnesota will trend dry the next few days.
Areas to the south will see rain the next few days, while areas to the north remain dry #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/q9dcn27B50 — NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) May 1, 2018 NOAA’s 7-day rainfall outlook suggest heavy rains into Iowa, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, but very little across Minnesota and the Dakotas.
NOAA’s GFS model 16-day precip outlook suggests less than an inch of rain in the next 16 days.
Of course this can change with one good local thunderstorm, but if it verifies things are going to get dry around parts of Minnesota in the next two weeks.
Numbers courtesy of the Twin Cities NWS.

California just recently came out of a terrifying drought, which underscores the very real problems that will face water systems going forward. Simply put, many of the places where we live have water systems heavily affected by climate change. And for Cape Town, South Africa’s largest city with nearly four million residents, it’s close to becoming an outright crisis. Simply put, there is, potentially, a day on the calendar (“Day Zero”) when Cape Town, which is already rationing its water, will officially run out. And there may not be many realistic long-term solutions, if the drought keeps up, but here are the essential details of this crisis: Cape Town residents are currently living on only 13 gallons of water a day: The water ration, already a quarter of what your average American uses in a day, was just cut by nearly half. For contrast, thirteen gallons is enough water for a six minute…

On California, the drought and the ‘yuck factor’.
David Sedlak: Our water systems bring water into our cities from great distances, and that means we need lots of infrastructure—dams, reservoirs, treatment plants and pipes.
Are these water recycling systems already being used in the state?
There are several of these advanced treatment plants in California.
It’s likely they’ll have a potable recycling project up and running in the coming decade.
The constructed wetlands that we’ve spent the most time studying is a system in Riverside County on the Santa Ana River called the Prado Wetlands.
We’re currently in the process of conducting experiments in support of several different types of wetland treatment systems that are being considered in the Bay Area.
Will climate change affect the country’s water supply?
But the problem is the kinds of solutions that are needed to deal with the drought often require a long time to build, so it’s hard to build a new water supply over night.
But very few people currently own them in California.

Sieh dir diese und weitere Ideen an!.
A backyard graywater filtration system that takes the sink, shower and washing machine water from the house, passes the water through a strainer, and then filters it through this man-made wetland bedded in 4 bathtubs that irrigates the gardens directly.
Collecting the rain that falls on your roof can help your garden and save some of your water usage."
Perfect for holding (4) 6" Terra cotta pots filled with your favorite plant or flower, and 2 saucers to catch the water as it drains from pots hanging over them.
Ideal for those who have little or no floor space for their small plants/flowers!
Nylon rope supports up to 50lbs.
Aplicando un poco de ingenio e imaginación, podremos crearnos, tal y como vemos en estos ejemplos, unas elegantes jardineras de aspecto sobrio y contemporáneo.
Una idea especialmente adecuada para jardines de exterior por su solidez y durabilidad a la intemperie.
Muy ingenioso…… Lilley designed both an open-air living room and an al fresco dining room.
Solid furniture made of poured concrete and TimberTech decking, portable pieces from Plain Air (plainair.com) and a built-in fire pit create a natural gathering place.

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Water Authority has issued guidelines on the usage of water and warned of strong action to curb its misuse in the wake of the severe drinking water shortage.
It has imposed a 25 percent cut in the water supplied to Thiruvananthapuram and enforced restrictions in the supply between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The water from Peppara is released daily to Aruvikkara reservoir from where it is supplied to the city now.
Even water from bathrooms or flush can be used for purposes like watering plants, Fr Kurian said.
Avoid car wash: Refrain from washing vehicles using KWA water.
KWA drinking water should not be used for gardening.
Drink warm water, not cold The health department has issued an advisory to the people on the consumption of water to prevent the outbreak of diseases in the wake of the summer heat and shortage of water.
Action likely against car wash centres using drinking water The Kerala Water Authority may consider actions against car wash centres that ‘waste’ drinking water during the drought situation.
“Car wash centres that have KWA connection should use wells or other water bodies.
We do not supply purified water for vehicle washing purposes.

Making every drop of water count.
Compared to Thailand and Singapore, which charge about RM1.09 and RM6.50 per cubic meter of water respectively for domestic use, our water prices are cheaper by at least 36%.
Nevertheless, not every Malaysian appreciates the cheaper price and uses water prudently.
We only need 100 to 120 litres of water per person per day to meet our basic needs.
Activities in the bathroom make up half of the total water consumed in a typical household.
Washing laundry accounts for one-fifth of overall household water consumption.
Running tap water can waste four to six litres of water per minute.
Use a glass of water for rinsing teeth.
We only need 40 to 50 litres of water per shower.
Consolidating washes will save not only water but also energy.