Auckland's water supply is on track for a much-needed boost, as construction on a new treatment plant gains momentum.
The plant will increase the amount of water the city takes from the Waikato River from 175 million litres a day to 225 million, helping ease pressure on the city's dams.
Dam storage was at a record low in 2020, falling to 42 per cent.
In a normal year the supply level would be 86.3 per cent right now, but today it's still at a low 62.89 per cent.
"We're doing everything we can to bring on more supply, but we need Aucklanders to do their part and use water wisely. Use your outdoor tap [but] use a trigger nozzle, don't use your sprinklers," Watercare's acting chief operations officer Anin Nama told 1 NEWS.
Watercare said the call to conserve was particularly important this month as February, and specifically the first week, generally has the highest water usage of the year.
The peak in 2020 topped 560 million litres in a day.
"We're expecting demand to go up," Nama said.
But he said Watercare officials are hoping Aucklanders don't exceed a target of 511 million litres a day.
"We can supply that each day, thanks to all the augmentation sources that we've done since the drought."
The new treatment plant, which neighbours the existing Waikato River water treatment plant in Tuakau, South of Auckland, is set to be complete by winter.
Programme manager Sven Harlos said a project of this size would usually take up to four years, but they expected to complete it in 10 months.
"It was crucial to get it done quickly and we have to do things differently than normal to build a plant this size," he said.
For example, "membrane tanks" have been made out of steel rather than concrete to speed up construction.
"Every day something new's happening," Harlos said.
The plant is just one of the projects that have been brought forward as part of Watercare's drought response, and is costing $145 million.
Nama said it has come with a price hike for Auckland water users, adding, "it is what it is".
He said the new plant will last five to 10 years, and that it's part of a bigger plan, with the possibility to expand further on the same site in the future.
He said since the beginning of the drought response, Aucklanders have saved 10 billion litres in total.
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