Duncan Garner: Outrageous we can't sort out the forgotten crisis of 2020

OPINION: Auckland's water shortage really is the forgotten crisis of 2020.

But it's biting Aucklanders hard and water restrictions are set to continue across summer, and may get even tougher for longer.

So, stand very by for more bad news.

The dams are 67 percent full - they are normally 91 percent. 

Summer is here, COVID has gone, but those who know the truth are not jumping up and down for joy. 

They're hiding in the shadows because it's damn embarrassing that a first-world modern city runs out of water. 

How these water bosses were worth more than $600,000 a year is beyond me.

Our gardens are dying. The earth is rock hard. And heaven forbid, the car is dirty. Oh my god, how can Aucklanders cope from here?

But jokes aside, it's an outrageous situation we find ourselves in.

And here's more bad news, your top end tomatoes are looking rotten too.

Curious Croppers have produced top end tomatoes for decades and chances are if you've eaten out in Auckland in the past 30 years you have enjoyed their delicious tomatoes.

But unless the drought is broken, they're toast, they won't make it.

What sort of modern city can't sort this out?

Curious Croppers are on bore water, but the drought has screwed that.

The cost of water tankers is prohibitive and they need 20,000 litres a day to survive.

So why can't Auckland find this? Come up with a solution?

Think smarter, think wider.

Where's Phil Goff? Where's the council?

We poured billions into COVID. Great, but let's not forget the wealth creators, those who take risks, who provide jobs.

This is their time of need. Can someone turn the tap on for them too?

Duncan Garner hosts The AM Show.