With the ongoing drought continuing to impact not only our region but a large chunk of the country, it is more important than ever to be water wise. This weekend will see National Water Week being held across the nation after being adapted from the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The celebrations will also see the Australian Water Association's "Strategy '22" begin to come into effect. "Strategy '22" is a vision to be Australia's biggest water network inspiring and driving a sustainable water future.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Every third week of October, National Water Week makes a splash across Australia and looks to inspire individuals, communities, organisations and businesses to work together to not only build awareness around the value of water, but also to be proactive in saving water. Access to clean water is hugely important to every aspect of our lives, and everyone should try their best to protect our water environments and resources, and use water wisely.
Oberon Council is just one of many organisations who have stepped up their efforts in regards to saving water. Cutting back on your water use not only saves water, but also saves energy, money and the environment.
Oberon Council has provided some handy tips about how to save water in your home, garden and at work, and these can be found on Council's website at www.smartwatermark.org/Centroc/
- Avoid leaving taps running. Leaving a tap running wastes water and if its a hot tap it will waste energy.
- 15 to 20 per cent of water used in the home is in the laundry, so make sure you only wash when you have full loads.
- Leaks should be identified and repaired to avoid wasting water.
- Watering during the coolest parts of the day help the moisture soak in and avoids evaporation.
As the level of the Oberon Dam has now fallen to below 40 per cent capacity, Oberon Council introduced Level 2 Water Restrictions effective from Thursday, June 13 and are still currently in place. Level 2 Restrictions were designed to reduce non-essential use of water and reduce the impacts on the Oberon Dam during dry periods. Details of Level 2 Water Restrictions are as follows:
- Residential Gardens - Fixed hoses and sprinklers connected to the Oberon reticulated water system are banned.
- Micro-sprays can be used for 15 minutes and hand held hoses for 2 hours every second day, outside the hours of 8am to 4pm, on odd or even days matching house numbering system.
If the Oberon Dam falls to a level below 25 per cent capacity then Level 3 Water Restrictions will be applied and details will be widely advertised. Oberon Council said that the community's awareness and contribution to water efficiency is acknowledged and consumers are reminded that during dry periods additional reduction in consumption is required.