Central Otago District Council

If you’re getting ready to travel and your windscreen is foggy, here’s the fastest way to clear it:

• Turn your demister on.
• Turn your air conditioning to full strength at its hottest temperature.
• Turn circulating air off.
• Open the windows by a few centimetres, even if only for 20–30 seconds.

You should turn circulating air off because cold air from outside will clear fog faster than recirculated air in your car, which is already hot and has already absorbed some condensation.

In other words, cold and dry air is better than warm and moist air.

The circulating air symbol looks like a car with a U-shaped arrow in it – turn it off.

Opening the windows just a little will help clear the humid air inside, replacing it with colder air from outside. This speeds up the process a bit but it's a nice-to-have – sometimes it'll be raining, or just really cold outside.

If you’re not sure what your demister looks like, its symbol looks like three arrows pointing up at a curved rectangle. In most modern vehicles this symbol will be on a button you can turn on or off, but in older vehicles it may be a setting you need to select using a dial.

We've all seen people driving around with a foggy windscreen, and with foggy windows too. It's illegal to drive with a foggy windscreen (under section 8.8 of the Land Transport (Road User) Rule), so clear your windscreen and keep it clear as you’re travelling.

When the weather is bad, always check our pages to see if state highways are affected before you travel. Follow us if you aren’t already. You can find more information in this post: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HJqwn4Sxa/

❄️Winter Road Condition Reports❄️

Before you head out this morning, make sure to check the latest road conditions on your route.

🔹 Check out the reports on the Central App:
https://centralapp.nz/weather-reports/roads/page-1/5ba95ee06e9e5e002a481356

Or tune into your local radio station:
🔹 Radio Central: Alexandra 91.9 | Teviot Valley 94.3 | Māniatoto 104.3
🔹 Burn Radio: 92.3FM and 729AM
🔹 More FM: Alexandra 90.3 | Cromwell 94.3 | Māniatoto/Ida Valley 97.1

Keep an eye out for excess grit, reduce your speeds and drive to the winter conditions.

💧 Volumetric Water Charges💧

As part of our 2025-2032 Long-term Plan, water rates across our district are changing from 1 July.

Adjusting small daily habits and checking your property for hidden leaks are simple, effective ways to help manage your water consumption and stay on top of this adjustment.

Visit our website (link in comments👇️) to learn more.

How prepared is your household for an emergency?

Emergency Management Otago has launched the 2026 Community Resilience Survey and we’d love your help.

The short survey takes just 5-10 minutes and will help us better understand how prepared Otago communities are for emergencies such as flooding, earthquakes, snow and storms.

Your feedback will help shape future preparedness activities, resources and investment across the region.

✅ Quick and easy to complete
✅ Confidential responses
✅ Helps strengthen community resilience across Otago

🎁 Plus - everyone who completes the survey can go in the draw to win a 4 person grab bag! We have one for each District to give away!

You can complete the survey here https://feedback.askyourteam.com/RzVtiLH

Prepared communities recover faster and cope better during emergencies and every response helps build a clearer picture of resilience across Otago.

Waitaki District Council Dunedin City Council Otago Regional Council Clutha District Council Central Otago District Council Queenstown Lakes District Council Otago Rural Support Trust Ōmārama Gazette Palmerston Otago

Image Description: Photo of a grab bag with assorted emergency items including a torch, first aid kit and gloves.

🚨 Getting to Know Central Otago: Connecting with our Emergency Services

Are you new to Central Otago? Or keen to feel more connected to the place you call home?

Come along to our next interactive session and connect with our local emergency services teams.

Monday 22 June 6pm - 7.30pm
St John, 40 Brandon Street, Alexandra

For more info and to register, check out the link in the comments 👇️

💻️ Online Funding Clinic - 18 June

Don't miss the Central Lakes Trust online funding clinic this Thursday.

If your organisation is looking for funding, this is a great opportunity to learn more about available grants and ask questions.

12pm Thursday 18 June
Online via Zoom (link in comments👇️)

Need a hand with your tech? We’ve got you covered!

We’re excited to launch GenConnect at Cromwell Library: a free, drop-in programme where local students help community members with everyday technology.

Get support with:
✔ Smartphones, tablets, and laptops
✔ Email and apps
✔ Sharing photos
✔ Library digital services

📍 Cromwell Library
🗓 Every Tuesday (during school term)
⏰ 3:30–4:30pm

No bookings needed—just pop in and say hello!