WHILE TAMWORTH has moved to buckets if city siders want to keep beds and gardens alive from November 22, the new trigger point also sees the council on drought watering regimes across our public spaces.
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From today the council officially stops watering almost half of its Tamworth parks and other green spaces - some 28 spots considered Category 1 places, and another 50 on the second tier are the only ones in the city that will continue to see some watering.
Many of those also have bore supplies to them.
Under those rules, the Botanic Gardens, pools, sporting fields, major recreation parks, main roundabouts and medians, and lawn cemetery are the only ones to be watered but also on a reduced roster.
While the council has moved on residential and its own users, it is seeking a big contribution from industry.
The major commercial, industrial and institutional users of town water will also be asked to do their bit - and quickly.
Among them are abattoirs and food processors, shopping centres, retirement and aged care institutions, hospitals, schools and motels and hotels.
Mr Logan said previous water analysis suggested that while many believed industry to be a huge consumer of water, outdoor use on gardens and lawns was the biggest soaker of water supply.
"In normal times, we reckon our industrial consumption is about 12 megalitres a day and the rest is residential," Mr Logan said.
" At the moment, we are assuming people will do the right thing and that over the next two weeks our residential demand will drop considerably. I hope so anyway."
Mr Logan said that while he hoped we didn't get to Level 5, their data also suggested that with Chaffey Dam at only 25%, the trigger level for those restrictions, the city had about two years' supply left.
"If we can, then I estimate that we will see at least 50 days from the Level 3 point and when we get to the Level 4 trigger."
That trigger will mean the city pool being closed, pitches only for cricket watered, recycled supplies brought in by truck for town trees, and industry asked to target 20% water savings in their operations as a matter of course.
Tamworth Regional Council has estimated that if or when Chaffey Dam drops to the emergency 25% level 5, then the city has two years supply at current consumption levels.
