Tweed urged to think about water use

21 October 2019

Call for mindset change in National Water Week

Tweed Shire Council is calling on the community to shift its mindset around water use this week, National Water Week.

“We need to change the way we think about using water, not just in the dry season, but permanently,” Manager Water and Wastewater Anthony Burnham said as Clarrie Hall Dam reached 90 per cent capacity and carting water to places outside the shire was banned.

In past years, Tweed residents have shown they can change their water use behaviours, reducing demand by 22 per cent from 2009 when Council started its water efficiency campaigns to 2013.

“But since then, water usage has been tracking north again.”

Last week, the average Tweed resident used 189 litres of water a day against a Target 160L.

Currently 97 per cent of NSW is in drought, with many towns facing the prospect of running out of water.

“In the Tweed we are lucky but that doesn’t mean we are off the hook.

“At Tyalgum, our creek supply is down to a trickle and water restrictions will be applied soon if we do not have a significant fall of rain.

“Clarrie Hall Dam, which supplements the Tweed River supply at Bray Park Weir where the main town water supply is drawn, is down to 90 per cent capacity.”

Level One restrictions will be imposed when the dam reaches 75 per cent capacity, which is expected to be before Christmas if no significant rain falls.

This year’s National Water Week theme of ‘It’s time to change the world’ aims to raise awareness of the value of water.

“We all have an obligation to act responsibly with water and we are again asking Tweed residents to act now to delay the imposition of restrictions.”

In the house,

• Check and fix water leaks

• Change washers on dripping taps

• Have short four-minute showers

• Check you have WELS-rated taps and shower heads and if you don’t upgrade and apply for Council’s rebate up to $100

• Check the flow control on your taps

• Don’t run the tap to clean your teeth, and

• Fill the dishwasher and washing machine before use.

In the yard:

• Check your watering system and rainwater tank top-up system to make sure there are no leaks and it is not topping up unnecessarily

• Check your garden irrigation system for leaks and adjust the settings to reduce water use

• When watering, always use a trigger nozzle, and

• Mulch gardens.