Restricted use water notice - Westport and Carters Beach: 30 January 2026

A water restriction notice has been issued for Westport and Carters Beach due to water turbidity issues at the Giles Creek intake, caused by ongoing rainfall in the foothills above Westport.

Rainfall in the foothills above Westport has created issues with water turbidity (cloudiness caused by the amount of dirt and silt in the water) at the Giles Creek intake.

The creek supplies most of the water for the Westport Water Treatment Plant and the current poor quality of water at the intake means the water is unsuitable for introduction to the reservoir for water treatment.

As a result, the raw water reservoir level has dropped to 70% and a water restriction notice has been issued to prevent this dropping further.

To bring water levels up, Council asks Westport and Carters Beach residents to limit their water consumption until reservoir levels have recovered.

Water use is now restricted to necessary activities only. High water use activities, such as swimming pool-filling are not permitted.

This means:

• Limited use of water for operational and maintenance priorities as required for business sustainability.
  
  
• Limited residential outdoor use, with only hand-held buckets and watering cans for garden use.
  
  
• High‑use water consumption or filling activities are not permitted, this includes hard-surface hosing, water blasting, and the use of unattended sprinkler devices.
  
  

This water restriction will stay in place until further notice.

For tips on water conservation, see the Buller District Council website. 

Westport and Carters Beach residents are asked to share this information with neighbours, friends, and family.

Updates will be posted on the BDC Facebook page, Council’s website
under water notices and on Coast FM.

Council appreciates residents’ cooperation during this time and apologises for any inconvenience.