Ashburton District people are being urged to use water wisely or face restrictions, as water consumption climbs along with the temperature.

Ashburton’s seven-day rolling average daily water use has been above 22,000 cubic metres three times in the past weeks and Council is considering bringing in water restrictions.

Mayor Neil Brown said households needed to use water sensibly.

“That means not using water excessively and using it in a smart way. If you want to water your lawn, then please do it late in the evening or set a timer to water it during the night. It’s when everyone is using water at the same time that we see pressure levels drop and problems being reported.”

Council has been monitoring consumption over all its community water supplies and household water use has been rising.

Group Manager of Infrastructure and Open Spaces Neil McCann said managing demand was important.

“We have not applied water restrictions on the Ashburton scheme for a number of years but we’re concerned right now about levels of service and complaints about low pressure.

“The time period from 5pm to 9pm is typically when demand increases significantly partly due to people watering their gardens and lawns. We also see people watering their lawns in the middle of the day, which is also not a good time as most of the water evaporates.

“We would like people to conserve water through smart use, so everyone has the water they need.”

Ways to conserve water outside the house include watering roots or plants rather than the leaves, not watering paths and using a sprinkler with a timer.

Inside the house, water can be conserved by taking shorter showers and checking for leaks on your property. If your property has a water meter, check it last thing at night and then first thing in the morning to see water use.

Council has other water conservation tips on its website.