Garden Watering Restrictions in Upper Hutt

Upper Hutt is in Residential Water Restriction Level 1 as of Monday, 27 February 2023, along with Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt and South Wairarapa. Residential Water Restriction Level 1 means you can use sprinklers every other day based on your letterbox number. 

 

 Wellington Water restrictions level 1.jpg

 

Year-round water restrictions

To make sure there’s enough water for everyone, Upper Hutt is in level one water restrictions year-round, and there may be times throughout the year where we move into levels two, three, or four.

Year-round restrictions are in place because use of garden watering systems has the potential to waste a lot of water if used too frequently, or turned on for lengthy periods of time.

Level one restrictions allow you to use:

  • One (1) garden watering system at a time (a sprinkler, an irrigation system, a soaker hose or an unattended hose)
    • from 6.00 am – 8.00 am
    • and from 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm.
  • Only on allocated watering days
    • odd-numbered houses on odd dates of the month (1st, 3rd, 11th, etc)
    • or even-numbered houses on even dates of the month (2nd, 4th, 16th, etc).

Further restrictions

In certain circumstances, furthers restrictions on residential outdoor water use may become necessary and, in extreme circumstances, a total outdoor water ban may be declared.

To find out more about the water restriction levels, please visit Wellington Water's website.

What happens if you breach the restrictions?

We run watering patrols where we monitor compliance with the water restrictions and provide information on water conservation and the restrictions. We also investigate reports from the public of water bylaw breaches. People who are found to be breaching the restrictions may receive a warning or be issued with a breach notice.

If you are issued with a breach notice you have the following options:

  • Write to Council, explaining why you violated the restrictions.
  • Pay $150 to a nominated charity via Upper Hutt City Council.
  • Ignore the breach notice and do nothing.

If you write to us and your explanation is not accepted, and you choose not to donate to charity, Council will prosecute you (also if you ignore the breach notice and do nothing). Please note that a guilty verdict will be recorded as a criminal conviction. This may affect your options or eligibility when attempting to apply for employment and/or travel overseas.

For more information, download our Water restriction bylaw breach flyer.(PDF, 94KB)

For more information on the District Court process, call the Ministry of Justice on (04) 918 8800.

If you would like to report a bylaw breach, please fill out the form below.

 

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