Thursday, May 7, 2020

DAY 43 LOCKDOWN DROUGHT

An aerial view of the shocking water level at Whau Valley Dam which will be shut down if insufficient rain fell in winter. Photo / Supplied

The above photo is from the front page of our local paper, The Northern Advocate, and is of our main dam.  The headline is that the dam may be shut.  The water level has dropped to 44% which is the lowest it has been since it was first filled.  If it drops to 15% it will be shut and if it is shut we will get all our water from the Hatea River (assuming it has enough flow).

We had 15mm of rain on Sunday which is enough to supply the city for a week.  Apparently, we normally expect about 50mm of rain in 24 hours but we haven't had that for 18 months and we have an average or below average rainfall forecast for the next three months.  On the radio news this morning Auckland is in the same situation.

Today has been sunny.  No wind to start with but it got up after lunch.  I don't seem to have achieved much.  The crossword and Sudoku and a couple of loads of washing done and a lamb/vegetable curry with  dahl - it was delicious for lunch and, hopefully, there is enough for a couple more days.  While I was cooking Doug unloaded and spread the load of topsoil he got yesterday when he went to Kamo to pick up some prescriptions.

The daily corona virus update was giving details of what Level 2 will be like when we leave level 3 but we missed it so will catch up on the news tonight.  On Monday we get told when we move to that level.

13 comments:

  1. I just can;t help it but be jealous of Australia and New Zealand and your country's great job in flattening the curve and at the same time, minimal deaths. In our country on the other hand, we are only going up and up and our government has no plans whatsoever. That lamb and vegetable curry sounds super good!

    Please stay safe and greetings from the hot and sunny Philippines!

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    1. Thank you Stevenson. I hope you keep safe. There are a lot of people from the Philippines here and when my late husband was in care he had several looking after him. They were very caring.

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  2. I'm sorry about the drought that has hit New Zealand. Hopefully in the near future rainfall will be sufficient to hold water in the dam for long-term water supply.

    Stay safe dan have a nice days.

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  3. That is shockingly low.
    Your prime minister is doing well...I think our first minister would like to follow her lead, but the prime minister in London is in a hurry.... thinking of business not people

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    1. It surprised me how low the dam is. As far as Lockdown goes I hope people don't go silly and set us back again.

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  4. I wonder how well people practice water conservation in normal times. The amount of water wasted in most societies is staggering. Simple things like leaving the tap running while brushing teeth, washing dishes under a constant stream of water, and so on.

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    1. Yea, David I think I mentioned before but for about 40 years Max and I lived on tank water collected from the roof and had to be careful with water.

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  5. Is the top soil for the veggie garden? That photo is smacking with reality. Stay safe you two.

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    1. No, this was for the flower garden. Veggie garden all planted and doing well. You 2 stay safe as well.

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  6. Goodness, that is bad! My Dad said he can only remember one other summer when it was this dry, and that was the first year we moved in where he currently lives. Gosh I don't even want to think long ago that was as it will make me feel old!

    I hope NZ continues to beat this virus and stay safe. I worry so much about my family, but so glad they are in NZ where it seems to be much safer than here!

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    1. On this morning's news they were talking about the Bay of Plenty being bad as well. Yes, I hope when we move to the next level that people do't go mad.

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  7. You desperately need more there, I've also read that Auckland is still in drought mode too. We've had quite a bit here lately, wish I could send it to you.

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