Community responds to amber water restrictions

Published on 08 January 2020

The communities of Goulburn and Marulan have responded to amber level water restrictions positively, since introduction at the start of December.

Water storage currently sits at 61% and is holding up well considering the heat and low rainfall, however strong drought conditions persist around the region. Target consumption under amber level restrictions is 230 litres per person per day.

“I’d like to thank the community for their positive efforts to curb water use so far, as we have seen a good response from residents. With no rain in the immediate forecasts we need to continue to be water wise, and dependent on rainfall throughout January and February Council will consider if we need to go to the next level of restrictions.”

“We continue to use the Highland Source Pipeline to near capacity, drawing just over 4 mega litres per day for use in Goulburn which is essential to our City.”

Under amber level restrictions, use of Goulburn and Marulan water supply is restricted to:

• Hand held hose with a control nozzle or bucket can only be used between 5pm and 10am to water plants and lawns
• Watering systems and hose sprinklers can only be used between 5pm and 10am on weekends
• Paths, driveways and hard surfaces cannot be cleaned. In extraordinary circumstances for example following a health threatening incident, a hose can be used to assist to clean up
• Vehicles can be washed at any time on a lawn or porous surface using a hose with a control nozzle, bucket or low volume high pressure machine
• Private pools can only be filled when a water offset plan for that residence has been met, including the mandatory use of a pool cover when the pool is not in use. For further details see Council’s Water Use Policy

The Water Use Policy has 3 distinct levels of permanent water conservation measures based on total storage volume and HSP bulk water transfer triggers. The three levels are green, amber and red – Council’s policy has the full details of each level and is available to view on our website.