Residents in the Queenstown Lakes District are being asked to conserve water or face potential water restrictions this summer.
The council says availability of water is not an issue but there is a strain on infrastructure. Photo: 123rf
The district council says demand for water is putting a strain on the region's infrastructure network.
Council infrastructure operations manager Simon Mason said a major source of summer water use lies with the increasing number of people watering gardens and lawns.
But council stressed that water was not running out.
"Obviously people look and they go 'we've got these massive lakes', so there's not an issue with the availability of water.
"But we do have millions of dollars worth of infrastructure tied up in distributing that water, treating that water and getting it out to the customers - and that's where the limitations start to arrive," Mason said.
He said a number of measures could help reduce the strain on the infrastructure.
"To help both your garden and the community, we suggest watering your garden in the evening or, if possible, set a timer to water it overnight," Mason said.
"Irrigating between 10pm and 6am avoids water loss through evaporation, and helps to reduce the strain on our infrastructure during the daytime peak demand periods."
He said other solutions could be to fix water leaks and reduce shower times.
"By making these simple changes we can potentially avoid water restrictions this summer," Mason said.