People waited hours in the hot sun to purchase discounted 200-litre water tanks at the southern landfill's Tip Shop on Tuesday in Wellington. Photo: Supplied / Wellington City Council
Water storage tanks are in hot demand in Wellington, and the council says deliveries should soon ramp up to meet the need.
Wellingtonians were warned they should have emergency water stored at their homes in the case of a shortage during a sizzling summer. The region has been urged to prepare for the possibility of an acute water shortage.
A queue of people waited hours in the hot sun to purchase discounted 200 litre water tanks at the southern landfill's Tip Shop on Tuesday.
There were 70 tanks available in the latest delivery, and everyone who queued walked away happy, council spokesperson Richard MacLean said.
"But we are now obviously subject to the ability of the manufacturer to build these tanks, or produce these tanks as quickly as possible.
"We're expecting a delivery each week, and hopefully if the manufacturer can scale up, then that will become more frequent."
Sales of water storage tanks have jumped in the Wellington region after Wellingtonians were warned to have water stored at their homes in case of a shortage this summer. Photo: Supplied / Wellington City Council
Council would let people know when more were available, he said.
The tanks were significantly cheaper than usual: the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office partnered with manufacturer The Tank Guy to offer them for $115, down from $265.
They were also available at council facilities in Lower Hutt, Porirua, South Wairarapa, Carterton and Masterton. Water tanks are temporarily out of stock at Kāpiti and Upper Hutt councils.
It was promising that people seemed to understand how important it was to store water, MacLean said.
"We're very pleased that people are showing interest and taking this situation seriously."
But it was not just important during summer, he said.
At-home water storage was also vital in case of natural disasters like earthquakes, when water supplies could be compromised.
Meanwhile, water tank sales in Upper Hutt have increased by more than a 1000 percent compared to two summers ago.
Upper Hutt City Council said it had sold 456 water tanks in the past three months - only 35 were sold during the same period in 2022.
The council said it had currently sold out of the tanks, and new stock would not arrive for a couple of weeks.