Level two water restrictions are set to be placed on Sydney, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra regions as Greater Sydney’s water supply feels the pressure of the State’s drought conditions.
Premier, Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Water, Melinda Pavey announced the restrictions this week.
“To give the community certainty, the water restrictions will be in place from 10 December,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Ms Berejiklian said Sydney dam levels were currently close to 46 per cent and continuing to drop every week.
“Usually, we would expect to have Level Two water restrictions come into effect when dam levels reached 40 per cent,” she said.
“But given the rapid rate of decline of our dam levels we have decided to enact the next level of restrictions sooner than planned.”
She said the Level two restrictions were expected to save 78.5 gigalitres of water per year.
“More than 85 per cent of Greater Sydney’s water is supplied by captured rainfall and, because of the current drought, dam levels have reached the lowest levels seen since the Millennium drought.”
Ms Berejiklian said that under the new water restrictions people would be required to use a bucket or watering can to water their gardens between approved times, cars could only be washed with a bucket or taken to a commercial car wash and the topping up of pools and spas would be limited to 15 minutes a day with a trigger nozzle.
Ms Pavey said the Bureau of Meteorology had predicted a hot, dry summer ahead.
“Fines will still apply for breaches of water restrictions,” Ms Pavey said.
