The Buller District Council (BDC) has issued a warning to its residents to comply with its water restrictions or the area will run out of water in less than two weeks.
The council says water conservation measures were introduced in late April to try to reduce the water consumption by consumers as a precaution to prevent serious shortages.
However conservation measures were unsuccessful leading to water restrictions being put in place in early May.
"Unfortunately the restriction measures have been ignored by some residents and businesses who are continuing to use excessive water for car and truck washing, water blasting and other high water usage activities," BDC's Mike Duff said in a statement.
"This is really disappointing as it significantly increases the risk of us running out of water."
Mr Duff adds daily water usage per person in the area is over triple that of the national average, which is 250 to 300 litres per person per day.
"Consumers on the Westport and Carters Beach water supply are currently using an average 985 litres per person per day," he added.
"We now only have seven days of reserves left."
The BDC says it is restricting the use of water to essential use only including drinking water, water used for cooking and water used for sanitation purposes.
"The risk of running out of water is very real and will significantly impact on all those currently reliant on the supply," Mr Duff added.
"We want to avoid this at all costs, and urge everyone to play their part by complying with the restrictions in place."
Newshub.
