Council’s stockwater rangers are advising people to have backup water sources for stock as flows traditionally drop in the stockwater race network over summer.

The network is over 2000km long and fed by rivers and springs, and some of these are showing reduced flows that translates to less available water at the intake.

Council stockwater rangers are keeping an eye on flows and also asking stockwater users to check their races for weed or rubbish blockages that could also be affecting the passage of water through the network.

Infrastructure and Open Spaces Group Manager Neil McCann said a number of factors that impacted the network were outside Council’s control and a constant or uninterrupted supply of water was not guaranteed.

“Our rangers check flows and organise maintenance on the main distribution races, and we expect property owners to make sure their own sections of race are clear for the good of all users on that race.

“But we can’t control the weather and we often find that in summer the flows are reduced and can even dry up, so everyone needs to think about a backup water source.”