27 August 2010

Water restrictions to come down to stage 2?

| johnboy
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ACTEW has announced a change in water restrictions following excellent winter rains which have pushed the dam levels up to 65%. So from 1 September we’re going down to Stage 2.

Under Stage 2 Water Restrictions some limited lawn watering and car washing is allowed and conditions for topping up ponds and swimming pools are slightly eased.

While they don’t want us going hog wild with the water it seems they think the worst is past:

“ACTEW is confident that now is the right time to relax restrictions and farewell Stage 3; we do not expect to see a return to Stage 3 Water Restrictions,” said Mr Sullivan.

He said recent rain was a key factor in enabling the change, but not the only one: “With combined dam levels at more than 65%, a positive weather outlook indicating wetter than normal conditions for the remainder of 2010 and good progress towards the Cotter Dam enlargement and other water security projects, ACTEW was able to make a decision to ease restrictions after nearly four years of Stage 3.”

UPDATE: ACTEW have now added a handy pdf to their site explaining exactly what Stage 2 circa 2010 entails:

You may water your lawn between 7am and 10am or between 7pm and 10pm on alternate days following the odds and evens system. You must however only use either a hand-held hose with a trigger nozzle, a bucket, a watering can or drippers. Use of sprinklers is not allowed on lawns or gardens.

Ponds may be topped up using a hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, a bucket or a watering can.
Swimming pools may be topped up, following the odds and evens system; provided that they are covered when not in use.

You can wash your car no more than once a month, on porous surfaces with a bucket and a hand-held hose with a trigger nozzle or a high-pressure low-volume cleaner. Your vehicle may be washed any time at a commercial car wash.

Large businesses, commercial operators and Government need to continue meeting a target reduction in water use, aiming for 25% compared to non-restriction years.

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Thoroughly Smashed4:12 pm 02 Sep 10

Jim Jones said :

Captain RAAF said :

Who cares, I pay for the water, I’ll use it when I please!

Troll or idiot – either way you lose.

Dammit, I was hoping no-one would rise to the bait. Maybe he’ll go away if nobody pays any attention to his brain damaged BS. I’ll start now.

Captain RAAF said :

Who cares, I pay for the water, I’ll use it when I please!

Troll or idiot – either way you lose.

If I cut the top of my water tank, can I now refill it (my new pool) using the odds and evens system, then use it to water my lawn whenever I want?

yep.
you can now water your lawn after dark, but can still only water your flowers and vegies every second night at dinnertime.
i suppose it makes sense to someone.

The PDF specifically states that sprinklers cannot be used on lawns and gardens. That appears to be the only mention of gardens in the whole doc (although I did just skim it). Do I have to water my vegies at the same time as my lawn?

Also, can I wash both cars once a month? And can I wash my bike whenever I want?

Jivrashia said :

They could have written “You must put on a clown’s make-up before you top up your swimming pool” and it would have had the same effect.

Don’t go giving them ideas.

Credit Inquiry12:07 pm 02 Sep 10

Since irrigation water use is such a large issue regarding the amount of water we use for irrigation why not start there in designing and using a better product? http://www.IrrigationThatMakesSense.org is a non profit group trying to battle our national water issues by providing funding and installation of green irrigation products. They have a irrigation product that conserves up to 80% of water use after two years. Their product is installed sub-surface therefore you never see it watering. It makes the plants stronger, uses less fertilizer along with water and no over spray onto sidewalks and roads. The cost to install their underground irrigation product is comparable to overhead sprinklers but this is the green irrigation choice.

Wouldnt it be smarter to leave the restrictions at Level 3. That way we will never be in this situation ever again.

i.e. little water.

Woody Mann-Caruso3:09 pm 28 Aug 10

Sounds a bit like the current media-led hysteria about “climate change”.

Yes, they’re exactly the same.

Sorry to hear you have AIDS.

My lawn is coming along nicely. Last summer I transplanted some runners from another lawn (a kikuyu variant), and kept a large bucket in the shower which I emptied each evening onto a different part of the lawn. The lawn wasn’t nice, but it survived, meaning that this Spring it should green up nicely.

As for the comment about businesses just passing on the cost of the water – spot on. It seems crazy to be putting buckets in showers when car yards hose off cars whenever they feel like it.

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster10:11 am 28 Aug 10

switch said :

PickedANickname said :

Wasn’t it in 1984 where they would re-write history?

You mean as in Winston hearing that the chocolate ration was going to be increased to 20 grammes a week?

Ah yes 1984. That was the year the newspapers told us that AIDS would devastate the heterosexual community in Australia and that all human life would be extinct within ten years. Sounds a bit like the current media-led hysteria about “climate change”.

Hells_Bells74 said :

Are we the only ones being held accountable, householders that is?

Of course! It’s like recycling or saving electricity. McDonalds produce many items wrapped in recyclable material these days but provide no recycling bins. Shops are heated or air-conditioned but leave the doors wide open. Why should they care about something that flows freely from a tap? It’s just another business expense they can pass onto customers.

As for sprinklers, mine works great! Alas, I designed a garden without grass, so I use it on the veggie patch… in the middle of the day… every day! Obviously, I have tank water 🙂

Hells_Bells748:18 pm 27 Aug 10

I meant to say, I always assumed they recycled their water.

Hells_Bells748:15 pm 27 Aug 10

Are they really seriously telling us we can occasionally wash our car (prob still on lawn, right?) even though, a certain car yard in Belconnen (if not them all) washes cars all day long. I always assumed it was recycled water I could see going straight down their drain.

Apparently not, when I asked! That was when we were in higher restrictions too of course. Are we the only ones being held accountable, householders that is?

Captain RAAF7:42 pm 27 Aug 10

Who cares, I pay for the water, I’ll use it when I please!

Erg0 said :

I’m struggling to understand why swimming pools can only be topped up every second day. Even if there are people out there that would actually be doing this daily (!) it’s the same amount of water being used, surely?

It’s a strategy to put you off using water.

For example, some people will not top up because the alternate day was unsuitable for them (rain, going out, something else came up).

They could have written “You must put on a clown’s make-up before you top up your swimming pool” and it would have had the same effect.

Use of sprinklers is not allowed on lawns or gardens.

I guess the days of using and playing with a sprinkler are long gone… Soon sprinklers will only be seen in museums.

PickedANickname said :

Wasn’t it in 1984 where they would re-write history?

You mean as in Winston hearing that the chocolate ration was going to be increased to 20 grammes a week?

Holden Caulfield1:38 pm 27 Aug 10

D’oh, sorry, I just saw the original date on the article you quoted, haha.

Holden Caulfield1:37 pm 27 Aug 10

@PickedANickname It looks to me as that ABC report is incorrect when it states “Under stage two restrictions, people will be able to use their sprinklers in their gardens in the morning and evening on the odds and evens system.”

Here is an extract from the PDF available from the link in the OP:

“You may water your lawn between 7am and 10am or between 7pm and 10pm on
alternate days following the odds and evens system. You must however only use
either a hand-held hose with a trigger nozzle, a bucket, a watering can or drippers. Use
of sprinklers is not allowed on lawns or gardens.

PickedANickname1:03 pm 27 Aug 10

http://www.abc.net.au/news/australia/act/200402/s1053639.htm

Last Update: Thursday, February 26, 2004. 11:01 AM (AEDT)

Canberra eases water restrictions
Canberra’s water restrictions will be eased from stage three to stage two from Monday.

Under stage two restrictions, people will be able to use their sprinklers in their gardens in the morning and evening on the odds and evens system.

Deputy Chief Minister Ted Quinlan says it is likely that stage two restrictions will be in force during winter.

“Water restrictions will be reduced from stage three back to stage two, which is quite a significant step,” he said.

“The step up to stage three was quite a steep step given that you couldn’t use sprinklers on lawns and gardens at all.”

—————————————————-
Wasn’t it in 1984 where they would re-write history?

but can we water the garden before 7pm at night???

I’m struggling to understand why swimming pools can only be topped up every second day. Even if there are people out there that would actually be doing this daily (!) it’s the same amount of water being used, surely?

Holden Caulfield11:22 am 27 Aug 10

Interesting that Stage 2 restrictions v2010 look to be closer to Stage 3 circa 2004.

I understand car washing is going to be allowed once a month. While this is a greatly welcomed measure, I would have expected greater freedoms under Stage 2 restrictions.

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