Deep Creek Dam provides back-up water supply for Eurobodalla Shire and it is currently at 90 per cent capacity. Photo: Supplied.
Water restrictions have been lifted from level two to permanent water conservation measures, but there’s no end in sight for either the Bega Valley’s extreme drought, or drought conditions in the Eurobodalla Shire.
With the Eurobodalla Shire’s back-up water supply at Deep Creek Dam back above 90 per cent, the water restriction measures have been lifted.
“Despite February’s flooding rain, the region remains very dry with the NSW Department of Primary Industries classifying Eurobodalla in drought, and Bega Valley in intense drought,” said Eurobodalla Shire Council infrastructure services director Warren Sharpe. “Our rivers are running low and winter rain is forecast to be below average.
“If the past summer showed us anything, it was the value of our water.”
Council recommends households and businesses adopt the following outdoor-use water practices during permanent water conservation measures:
- Use water between 4 pm and 10 am using hand-held hoses, fixed sprinklers, drip-irrigation or microspray systems.
- Only wash hard surfaces – paths, decks, driveways – with a trigger-nozzle hose when cleaning up after dangerous spills, prior to painting, or removing growths of algae or moss.
- Wash private vehicles, boats and flush motors on grass areas using buckets and a final rinse with a trigger-nozzle hose.
- Cover private swimming pools and external spas when not in use.
- Washing vehicles and watercraft at boat ramps is always banned.
The council implemented water restrictions in December last year, jumping from level-one restrictions to level three, as the shire drew on the Deep Creek Dam reserve, which was at 66 per cent capacity at the time, and dropping by 1.5 per cent per week.
“Dropping water restrictions frees homeowners from specific time slots to water gardens, which will be welcome as the days continue to shorten,” said Mr Sharpe.
For more information on permanent water conservation measures, head to the Eurobodalla Shire Council website, and for pointers on how to save water, visit council’s tips page.
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