Level 4 water restrictions are in place as of 1 January 2020. The decision was made to implement the changes at the Central Tablelands Water (CTW) meeting in December last year.
Gavin Rhodes, the General Manager of CTW pointed out that Lake Rowlands, in particular, had seen a rapid reduction of 3% in a period of just two weeks over the peak summer demand period. Due to a long-term forecast of unfavourable drought conditions, the decision was made to implement a more responsible water restriction level in order to manage the water.
Under CTW’s current Water Restrictions Policy, Level 4 restrictions are put in place when Lake Rowlands falls to 40%.
CTW’s Deputy Chairman, Cr Kevin Walker stated, “Although Lake Rowlands is currently at 44%, we anticipate that it will continue to fall at a rapid rate as the warmer weather endures and the forecasted rainfall for the upcoming months is negligible at best. The CTW Board have been unanimous in deciding to implement Level 4 restrictions and are fully supportive of the CTW Senior Management Team and staff in managing this precious resource”.
Level 4 restrictions consist of:
• The watering of gardens on Wednesday and Sunday evenings between 6pm and 8pm for a maximum of one hour.
• Watering of lawns is not permitted.
• Additional approval has been granted by Council for the use of a handheld trigger hose for up to one hour per allocated watering day to water gardens only.
CTW will continue to closely monitor the level of Lake Rowlands and implement strategies to gain access to the dead storage of the dam in the future.
CTW has expressed thanks to water consumers for their understanding of the importance of using water wisely during this period of intense drought.
For further information, see page seven, call CTW’s administration office on 02 6391 7200 or visit their website at www.ctw.nsw.gov.au.