Level 5 Water Restrictions

We're currently suffering a drought here in South-East Queensland. You may remember an earlier entry when I discussed level 4 water restrictions being put into place on 1 November 2006. Well, things haven't improved and so the Queensland Water Commission introduced level 5 water restrictions on Tuesday, 10 April 2007. Water restrictions only apply to the use of town water. All outdoor sprinkling and hosing is banned.

For existing gardens and lawns watering is only permitted using a hand held watering can or bucket filled directly from a tap at the following times:

• Odd numbered houses/units: 4pm - 7pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
• Even numbered houses/units: 4pm - 7pm on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
  

You can only use town water from a bucket filled directly from a tap to:

• wash car mirrors, glass, number plates and potentially damaging marks - not the rest of the vehicle (except at a commercial car wash)
• flush an inboard or outboard motor or vehicle's brakes to prevent corrosion and maintain safe operation

clean external areas of houses and paved areas:

• for health and safety reasons
• during pre-painting and pre-sale preparation activities
• to maintain external surfaces once every year
• to maintain roof surfaces once every three years

Outdoor showering is not permitted (eg. at beaches).

Consumption of water is now limited to 140 litres per person per day, with chronic over-users facing heavy fines and their shower pressure reduced to a trickle.