Level one water restrictions were introduced in the Yass Valley on December 20, amid a worsening heatwave and unprecedented statewide bush fires.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It means gardens and lawns must only be watered at certain times of the day.
Hand-held hoses or drippers can be used from 6-9pm in summer and 4-7pm in winter.
Odd street numbered houses are limited to watering their gardens and lawns to odd-numbered days and even street numbered houses to even-numbered days.
Houses only with elderly people are allowed to water between 7-10am on alternative days.
Buckets can be used anytime for essential garden watering that does not cause pooling or runoff.
No hosing of hard surfaces is permitted unless cleaning is required as the result of an accident, fire, health hazard or another emergency.
Cars can be washed once a week on grass areas only using a bucket or watering can; hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or a high pressure/low volume cleaner.
Private swimming pools must be filled and topped up with a hand-held hose only and pool covers are encouraged.
Businesses should follow the same rules as residents but do not have to follow the restrictions when washing commercial vehicles.
Fines of $220 will apply for residents and $550 for businesses who don't follow the restrictions.
Yass Valley Council has said its water supply is faring better than other parts of New South Wales with Yass Dam sitting at about 97 per cent capacity.
However, the council decided to impose water restrictions in advance to prepare for the water supply to lower with water evaporation increasing under the hot, dry and windy weather we are experiencing.
"We are constantly monitoring water levels in Yass Dam and our water usage across the local government area and the situation is constantly changing," the council's director of engineering Stan Robb said.
"A State of Emergency has been declared in NSW for the second time in as many months and we are currently facing extreme weather conditions in the Yass Valley with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting temperatures to exceed 40 degrees Celsius today and tomorrow."
Mr Robb said the council had listened to the community and would be cutting back on watering local sporting fields, parks and open spaces, continuing negotiations surrounding the use of Yass standpipe water and exploring options for how best to support rural residents who are the hardest hit by the drought.
"We are looking at ways we can support our rural community in relation to water access, for example, subsidising the cost of water (excluding transport costs) for our local farmers," Mr Robb said.
Under our draft water restrictions policy, any usage of the standpipe is also restricted to within our local government area and the council is negotiating with our biggest standpipe users in an effort to encourage them to go elsewhere for water."
The level one water restrictions will remain in place until storage levels have fully recovered, but even rainfall does not guarantee water in Yass Valley's catchment areas.
If drought conditions continue, the council could move through water restrictions levels two and three.
Emergency services will be exempt from water restrictions and there will be no limit whatsoever on water supply in the event of a bush fire in the Yass Valley.
