The river is flowing, and so we are pumping it, for the very first time. [Since the 60s]

Water abuse is my business. If 10% of housholds water their lawn illegally, that will lead to significant megalitres of water usage a day.

Targets are being set for water usage per day so as to stretch out the water supply. Every day we are reminded how how water usage has exceeded targets. sure businesses are at fault too. But I have seen plenty of businesses reducing water consumption: turning off urinal, not washing their trucks etc.

If a few greedy bastards abuse the system then they are being un-Australian by not thinking that they are part of a greater community.

Sure, have your long and frequent baths and bucket the water outside if you feel spiteful and want to be seen as having psycopathic tendecies: But I doubt you will be doing it for long. I am sure your neighbours will love you for it.

Maybe we shoudl get signs for our green lawns that say “Mind your on firetrucking business”

I for one will be hose watering my lawn soon – but which jo blogs walking down the street will know its greywater when I have a 20 m hose going to the tank in the back yard?

Just a bunch of nosy do gooder mofos.

Pandy, there are plenty of things you should ignore, because They Are None Of Your Business.

If I have a beef with the govt’s bullshit spin on water restrictions, who are you to interpose and make some sort of moral judgement?

I’m perfectly happy to be restricted at the meter. After it passes that, it is mine to be used as I wish, and it is not the Govt’s role (or yours) to pass some sort of moral judgement that I can use it for this, but I can’t use it for that.

Just who decided that a garden has a higher moral imperative than, say, a clean car? Why? I don’t care if my lawn dies but I really value my car and don’t want it damaged. My neighbour is the opposite. Why is he the good guy and I the villain? My water usage is less than his. I should be lauded and paraded down Northbourne Avenue, not cast as a sneak.

My water use is less than his. That is the name of the game. Yet busybody vigilantes have chopped up *my* hose and not his.

I dont’t accept that seeing someone watering their front lawn with a hose means that I should just ignore it. It is an obvious a bastard thing to do and very un-Australian and un-Canberran to do. Unless there is a notice on the front lawn saying greywater in use.

Last year when I could I was watering my lawn every second day for half an hour. This is how it remained lush and green completly. Now since the banning of lawn watering from the end of February, the only water it gets is from the grey water hose. There are lots of brown patches in it even after last weekends rain. There is no way that lawns bigger than mine can remain completely green. No way.

Also you ignore that I have caught neighbours using their sprinklers. What is could be their excuse: “I like to have a green lawn for the dog to crap on”? They have no water tanks.

Therefore, like the sunday Times has a shame page in it on eyesore around the place, I think we should do the same with regards to water cheats once they are caught.

Lets not forget, we WILL be entering stage 4 water restrictions in a couple of months time. So it is my “effing business” if I believe that you cnuts are wasting water.

Sammy, that validates the busybodies who think they have some right to supervise.

I’d rather:
“Mind your own effing business.”
Or
“People who look into my yard will be brown-eyed.”
Or
“Recycled water from my twice-a-day 200 litre baths.”

The simple option is to do what i’ve seen plenty of people around Canberra do. Put a sign on your lawn something like:

Grey water used to irrigate this garden.

Pandy – Going by your intentions -If I was to do what I intend – I would now am a non law abiding citizen – because behind my house i intend to have a 1000L tank and a submersible 5mm greywater pump (particles up to 5mm)

We would have a hose from our laundry gravity fed to said tank and a hose with a connection attached to th eoutlet side of t h epump.

Does this mean I now have to get a greywater pipe just to place on my lawn so do-gooders like yourself do not rudely assume we are breaking the law.
I agree with JB’s comments on meter reading…

And it’s not as if the fish get out of the water to go to the toilet either.

As to people’s lawns, the only real thing that matters is what is on their water meter.

Now if Actew wanted to get serious they’d get the laws changed so they could publish the addresses of the highest water users.

Goody, Goody,

I just found the link so that we can dob each other in…. Anonymously…

https://secure.actewagl.com.au/forms/actew/wastage.aspx

Wow!

Unsullied seepi? Go have a look at the rural houses in the catchment of Googong, all with septic tanks leaching away http://maps.google.com/
Then there’s the livestock, replete with hormones etc.
The other dam may be surrounded by forest, but remember we can’t even drink from the “unsullied” headwaters of the Snowy River at the side of Kosciuzsko due to giardia and crypto spread by foxes and cats.
Unsullied my bum.

Prof Collignon’s point is that Canberra has an unsullied water supply – why taint it.

He says recycling water is appropriate for places such as London ( or Gundagai) where they have no other options.

I think to dob people in is rude and presumptious, you don’t know what people are doing inside their house to save water.

Anybody who honestly thinks that a scheme that allows neighbours and other people in the community the right to ‘dob’ others in for doing anything contradictory to what is said by our political monkeys masters is a complete fool.

Sorry Pandy, i dont mean to single you out, but it ideas like that, that create divisiveness in communities, and right now with the way things are going, it is rather un-australian (sorry for the cliche, but it is apt). Aussies lend each other a hand in time of need, not behave like a little snot nosed brat who doesnt want to eat his brussel sprouts.

Al,

My issue is that with the low inflows into the Bidgee, that there may be a larger percentage of sewerage than would normally be there, also farm runoff of animal waste would be more prevalent than normal as the catchment hasn’t had a good flush out for a while. How good is the treatment of sewerage from Bredbo, Cooma and all the properties in the area ? Output from Tantangara by Snowyhydro is also at a minimum or none at the moment.

Even Cooma was concerned several months ago of not being able to pump enough water from the Bidgee for town supply purposes.

“Yummo” Roccon?
You mean to tell us that every single inland town you’ve ever been to or through you’ve NEVER drunk the town water? What do you think happens there?
This Professor Collinon going on about the recycling discussion as being so worrisome has not said one zot about the water that already comes out of his tap. And his supposed concern apparently only extends to Canberra as he doesn’t exhibit any concern for Gundagai or any other river towns and their drinking supplies…

I doubt Dan, that greywater diverters will water completely without any brownin-off the front lawns of a few places in my suburb. Anyhow, should they not indicate so by placing a hose some time on their lawn? Plus, I have photos of a lawn being watered in the wee hours of the morning.

Can we start a blog entry of dob in some one in Canberra witha suspiciously green lawn, including pictures?

Bit unfair on those with greywater diverters ?

Too easy to jump to conclusions.

First time with this equipment?

“for the very first time” … [in decades].

It’s the first time since the ’60s.

A bit of suspicious timing given the water strategy debate perhaps?

Stage 4 now!

Can we start a blog entry of dob in some one in Canberra witha suspiciously green lawn, including pictures?

looks like we are drinking sewerage earlier than thought.

Cooma’s effluent that is, from 100km upstream. yummo