John said seasonal restrictions were not unusual for Kairakau, but the timing and severity were.
“It happens yearly just for short periods or towards the end of the summer,” he said.
“But this is unprecedented.
“In the 25 years we’ve been here we’ve never had problems with restrictions at this time of year,” Mary said.
Now, with restrictions in place, the pair are trying to work out how to host their extended family of about 13 people when regular showers, laundry, dishwashers, and constant toilet flushing are off the table.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do because we can’t have our family here for summer,” Mary says.
At the Kairakau camping ground, long-time visitor Peter Edge said water shortages had been a recurring issue for decades.
“I’ve been coming here for about 35 years, and they’ve never really kept up with demand,” Edge said.
“It’s getting worse with the drier summers. I don’t know what the solution is.”
Camping ground worker Jay Pemberton said showers were currently shut during the day, with water only available for a few hours in the evening to manage demand.
Kairakau camping ground, where water use is being closely managed under level 4 restrictions. Photo / Rafaella Melo
Resident Ted Bibby, whose family has been coming to Kairakau since the 1920s, said while water quality upgrades had been prioritised, the real issue lay with ageing infrastructure, distribution, and council communication about water conservation.
“It’s a gold-plated water supply, but the delivery is shonky,” Bibby said.
He said tankers were frequently brought in to top up the system, but water was leaving the network as quickly as it arrived, raising concerns that ageing pipes could be contributing to leaks.
“They can put four tankers in, and it’s going out as fast as they’re filling it,” he said.
“The pipes are probably 70 years old, and I haven’t even got a turncock that operates on my system. I can’t turn the council water off, and the supply pipe goes underneath certain houses.”
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council chief executive Doug Tate said water sources remained “extremely low” and the situation was being closely monitored.
“There is no sign of a significant leak in Kairakau, but there have been extremely dry conditions for a number of months,” Tate says.
“When we increase water restriction levels, we always let our communities know through a number of platforms, including changing our water restrictions sign, social media, an ad on the local radio station, alerting media via media release and a letter drop.”
He said residents’ efforts had already reduced water use by about 15%, and tanker water had not yet been required since restrictions increased.
“Thanks to the efforts of those living in Kairakau, we’ve seen a 15% drop in water usage, and haven’t yet had to tanker water out since the increase in restriction levels.”
With MetService and Niwa forecasting continued dry conditions and the beach population expected to swell over Christmas, Tate said tankering would continue as needed but urged people to conserve water.