RESIDENTS URGED TO REMAIN WATER WISE
Restrictions have been eased, but Moreton Bay Regional Council is urging residents to remain mindful of their water use.
From Thursday July 31, the State Government eased water restrictions from Level 6 with a target maximum use of 140 litres of water per person per day, to a target of 170 litres a day.
Moreton Bay Regional Council’s Sustaintainability Committee Chair Rae Frawley (Div 6) said the lifted restrictions rewarded the world-class water saving actions of all residents.
“However, the drought has taught us just how precious our water resources are, and the need for us to be sensible about how we use them,” she said.
“A 40 per cent dam capacity is still a long way short of 100 per cent.”
Cr Frawley said the lifted restrictions meant residents could now water their gardens with a bucket filled from a tap on any weekday between 4pm and 8am.
On weekends, a hose fitted with a twist or trigger nozzle can be used by odd numbered premises on Saturdays between 4pm and 4.30pm and by even and unnumbered premises on Sundays between 4pm and 4.30pm.
“If you were to take up the half hour per week of hosing, it’s estimated you’ll increase your household’s water consumption by about 500 litres a week,” Cr Frawley said.
“But there’s nothing to stop residents continuing their good habits of taking shorter showers, using rainwater, and greywater from bathrooms and laundries to keep gardens alive.
“The bonus of keeping your water usage down, is that it will keep your water costs down too.”
Council’s Commercial Enterprises Committee chair Brian Battersby (Div 10) said that although water was progressively becoming a state government responsibility, council was still doing its bit to ensure that demands on potable supplies were reduced.
“We have several projects in the pipeline which will increase our production of recycled water. By providing this alternate supply for use on some gardens, industrial processes, dust control and roadworks, we’re able to reduce the demand on our drinking water supplies. We’ll save many megalitres a day using this water,” he said.
“We’ve also got an ongoing program to detect leaks in our water supply network and a range of education programs with the community, schools and businesses to help save water,” he said.
“But while we’re all doing our bit, we should also remember that our rapidly increasing population will continue to place demands on the sources we currently have,” he said.
“It’s because our demands for water will grow as our communities grow that we need to continue to make the effort to only use what we need,” he said.
