The upper Mataura has now been excluded from Southland's current irrigation ban.

Environment Southland (ES) amended their Water Shortage Direction on Friday (1 April) to exclude those parts of the Mataura River catchment above the State Highway 1 Bridge at Gore. 

ES chief executive Rob Phillips said, while water levels in the Upper Mataura are faring better than other areas across Southland, they are still low, with very little rain forecast for the next fortnight. 

“We’re still asking irrigators in this area to manage their takes and conserve water where they can.”

Mr Phillips said the direction will be reviewed regularly. “We are meeting with sector groups and iwi on Monday as part of the review process.”

“Farmers irrigating in the rest of Southland are still covered by the Water Shortage Direction. We recognise the need to take reasonable water for stock welfare, and for operational water use such as dairy washdown. We would encourage users to consider where water savings could be made, and to consider the potential impacts of their use on other users, the instream ecology and cultural values.”

“Those who are concerned about specific operational matters are encouraged to get in touch with us.”

People can email [email protected], call 0800 76 88 45 or log a request through the website at www.es.govt.nz/water-shortage

The direction, which is in place for 14 days (to 13 April) was put in place in response to the critically low water levels in our rivers and groundwater aquifers.

“The direction is a proactive measure to try and ensure we can protect the waterways, while also ensuring we still provide for essential human and animal health water supplies.”

With just 23 percent of the normal rainfall, this March is the driest on record for Southland. 

The region has had about 58 percent of the normal rainfall for the year. Coastal areas have only had 49 percent of the normal rainfall. This is the driest year to date since Environment Southland’s records began in 1970.