ABCDiamond

In case people are interested; Water restrictions here in Australia vary from area to area.

Redland Council SE QLD have the following restrictions:
Hose pipes can be used at any time.
Sprinklers etc can only be used 3 days per week. Houses with even numbers can use fixed watering systems on Wed, Fri & Sunday. Odd number houses can use them on Tue, Thur & Saturday.


Sydney Water District have the following restrictions:
No Sprinklers or Watering Systems at ANY TIME.
No Hosing of Hard Surfaces, including vehicles, at ANY TIME.
Hand Hosing of gardens is allowed on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, but only before 10am or after 4pm.
Permit needed to fill swimming pools.

It would be interesting to know what the restrictions are for other areas.

soapy©

good idea ABC

this might help
http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Saving...rRestrictions/

tonyk38

Sydney's water resources are seriously overstretched. There's an awful lot of people living on that little stretch of coast.

Does any one know the situation in any regional towns, since I'll be heading to 'Smallsville' when I get to Aus.

Thanks,
Tony.

soapy©

just do a search, im sure u will find the answer, sorry i can help.

soapy

cresta57

Dependant upon where you choose you may find yourself on "tank water" You learn very quickly how to conserve water then. We moved into our house just as the summer rain's stopped we had 12" of water in the 1 tank and have had to buy water 3 times this year so far. It's not too expensive especially if your buying water when everyone else has full tanks
Price goes up the longer without rain we go. We actually pay $90 for half a tank [2500] gallons. Tastes like shit though it's "town water" and full of chlorine.
We now have 3 x 5000 gallon tanks and calculating the roof area of our house and the average annual rainfall we can fill those 11 times over in the summer. This is another reason why the steel "colourbond" roofs are so popular in rural Australia. The water is lovely and has a chemical free taste
Tips on saving water we've been given range from using water from the dam [most rural houses have a dam it's like a big pond in your yard] to flush the loo and to use in the washing machine. Catching the cold water that runs from the shower while it warms up in a bucket. Using a glass of water to clean teeth rather than running water away. You can also use your "grey" water to water your garden plants.

biggy

In Yeppoon which is Livingstoneshire Council, you can use a hand held hose for watering of plants only between 7am and 9am.............4pm and 6pm daily.

If u want to wash car then u do so with a bucket.........all washing of driveways etc is prohibited

bridiej

Have you tried the old "brick in the cistern" trick?

Saves loads of water...

tonyk38

Thanks for all the handy tips!

I should just explain that I'm hoping to move to North East New South Wales and live in or near a small(ish) town for basic amenities though I need to consider my job as well (Mental Health Nurse) and might end up near to the MH units in either Coffs Harbour, Tamworth or Lismore. I'm just not a city person.

Where are you based? It sounds like you're pretty out of the way.

Tony.

tonyk38

You're coastwards of Rockhampton aren't you? Is that a pretty dry place then, or are the council just being cautious?

Tony.

tonyk38

Yep, one of many cheap and easy water conservation measures. We flush far too much water down the loo in the UK!

Tony.

bridiej

Anyone in the UK who has not tried this trick, see the link below for a free "save a flush" bag - you simply drop it in the cistern and it will save you a fortune on water meter bills!!!

https://vault2.secured-url.com/stwatersmart/index.asp

cresta57

We're 10 mins from the "city" of Gympie. You don't need to be far out of town to be on tank water. We're on acreage, the average block size in our area is 3/5 acres, as the houses are spread so thinly it's not economically viable to pipe in town water. We pay our rates to Tiaroshire council, they have just had a 3 million dollar treatment plant built but it's over 40 k away and there's no way it will be piped this far down.
Tank water does taste nicer than the chlorinated stuff in town[reticulated] and we tried to limit the water we've bought to just the one tank.
Cisterns here all seem to have the duo flush system, so no need for the brick in the cistern dodge, they also seem to be physically smaller in size.
New regulations coming into force in our area mean that even new homes in town will be built with a tank for collecting roof water soon.

Siren & Brian

Perth has had restrictions for years.... only allowed to water your garden twice a week on nominated days and only before 9 am and after 6 pm. There is no reason that these restrictions need to be lifted as thats all the lawns need and it should be done in the morning (before 6am) otherwise it doesnt get a chance to soak into the ground before the sun dries it out

tonyk38

Thanks for the info!

What's that part of Qld like? I must have been asleep on the coach when I passed through because I don't remember it. Is it quite green?

Tony.

Trevglas

Here is the current situation for the Gold Coast

Current residential restrictions include:
Sprinklers and hand held hoses allowed
ODD numbered properties on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
before 9.00am and after 4.00pm
EVEN and UNNUMBERED properties on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday before 9.00am and after 4.00pm
No sprinklers, lawn or garden watering permitted on Mondays
Car and boat cleaning allowed with trigger hoses / water saving devices at any time.

we are currently on Level 1 restrictions, but may be moving to Level 2 in a month or so

You can also get rebates on water saving devices here, such as low consumption shower heads, rainwater tanks, and water efficient washing machines (this is generally where front loaders win out)

About the brick in the cistern trick: not generally required here, since most toilets are fitted with a dual flush system (half flush and full flush).