Townsville City Council (QLD) will be implementing strict level 2 restrictions on water and irrigation after the 30 per cent capacity mark was reached at the Ross River Dam.
The restrictions include only evening use of sprinklers on allocated days and daily consumption targets of 135 megalitres for the city.
Townsville City Council has also cut irrigation of parks by another 10 per cent on top of the 14 per cent reduction made when they reached Level 1 restrictions. The council has also stepped up suburban patrols to oversee compliance.
Mayor Councillor, Jenny Hill, and Townsville Water and Waste Committee chairman, Councillor, Ray Gartrell, announced the tougher measures to prolong the city’s current water reserves.
“We need everyone to play a part in reducing the city’s water consumption to make our reserves stretch as far as possible,” Ms Hill said.
“The city’s current consumption is ranging between 160MLto as high as 200ML and cannot be sustained. Even with the Burdekin pipeline, the city needs water from the dam to meet our minimum daily needs,”
“Until decent rain comes to replenish the dam, we need to make our reserves in the Ross dam last and everyone can help by sticking to the restrictions. Across the community we need households to reduce their consumption by about 25 per cent to meet the Level 2 restriction targets.”
Ms Hill said the council will be writing to every household and business in the city, as well as advertising and utilising social media to raise awareness of the changes.
“Council will also be liaising with schools, sporting and community groups about the changes,” Ms Hill said.
Mr Gartrell said council had allocated additional resources and employed five new compliance officers to carry out water patrols during the day and night.
“Now is the time to check your household irrigation, and make sure timers are set correctly and you are aware of your correct watering days,” Mr Gartrell said.
“The council has five dedicated water compliance officers on the road in three vehicles to monitor for breaches and provide advice and feedback to residents. Regulatory services staff will also be trained to carry out compliance work as part of their normal duties in the community.”
