TAMWORTH councillors will consider whether to relax water rules for Tamworth again on Tuesday night.
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A report to the TRC meeting details how Tamworth residents are already subject to the toughest water rules of any of the regional council water areas and cannot use sprinklers at all, and only hand held hoses for two hours from 6pm to 8pm.
But a new report says that under the current drought plan the TRC abides by, the water levels of the supply dams at Chaffey and Dungowan actually provide for restrictions to be eased to allow some sprinkler use for two hours a day.
However, the report comes as weather bureau statistics show Tamworth had about half its normal September rain, like many other northern centres, and there are drier conditions forecast ahead of the El Nino predictions.
The TRC report recommends the councillors reinstate the normal plan trigger levels which were held to the level 2 benchmark at a council meeting last July. The council then said there wasn't a need to relax the rules.
However, this time around there's been some pretty hot spring weather, we have been conserving Chaffey supplies for months and it now stands at 57.7 per cent the highest level it's been since January 2014.
Under the current plan, restrictions can ease from Level 2 to Level 1 when Chaffey Dam reaches 45 per cent of its full supply volume of 62,000 Megalitres) and Dungowan Dam is at least 40 per cent of its full supply volume.
The trigger point for relaxing from Level 1 to Permanent Water Conservation Measures in Tamworth city is when the storage in Chaffey Dam reaches 60 per cent and Dungowan Dam is at least 40 per cent of full supply volume.
Dungowan Dam is at 91.9 per cent of capacity.
Tuesday's meeting will also hear how a new drought management plan is proceeding.
It's due to be tabled in November and the draft is being put together after what TRC said has been extensive community consultation and workshops with councillors.
It will go back on public display then before a final plan is adopted.
Until the last week or so, the average daily consumption of water has been 16.1 megalitres.
"This is a relatively low figure and the continuation of Level 2 restrictions has no doubt contributed to this low figure," water director Bruce Logan has said.
But the spell of hot summery conditions over the past week, where temperatures hit the low 30s, sparked a minor boost in consumption where daily use went as high as 24 megalitres last Tuesday. But Mr Logan has also argued that the water plans are designed to ensure no one will run out of water and that consumers should expect some relief from restrictions when the conditions allow for some relief.
WATER WINDOW STIRS UP GRIPES
THE change to daylight saving has brought a change to water rules across Tamworth – and has also brought complaints of cheats ignoring watering times.
Tamworth Regional Council has fielded a spate of calls about the number of breaches occurring, particularly in places like Tamworth where only hand-held hoses are allowed and all sprinklers are banned at all times.
The council yesterday reminded householders of the new watering times with the onset of daylight saving.
Under the TRC water plan, the allowable times to water have changed from the two-hour zone from 5pm daily to the new summer time of 6pm to 8pm daily.
There are three different levels of water restrictions that currently apply to different water supply areas across the region.
The harshest is in Tamworth, where the city is on level 2 restrictions.
TRC water sustainability officer Ian Lobban said the new watering window had been moved to later simply because the heat of the day was diminishing – and evaporation was less extensive and gardens got more benefit.
In Tamworth city, hand-held hoses with trigger nozzles and sub-surface dripper systems are allowed between 6pm and 8pm, and householders can only wash vehicles with a hand-held hose with a trigger nozzle between 6pm and 8pm or use a bucket at any time.
Mr Lobban said the region’s water supplies were in the strongest position seen for several summers, but he warned the community not to become complacent about being waterwise.
“There is no doubt the situation is much better than this time last year, but predictions are for a long, hot summer – and we have already had an early taste of that,” he said.
“We all need to continue to do our bit to stretch our water further.
“Most of the region is on the lowest level of water restrictions, but Attunga is on level 1 and Tamworth is on level 2.
“Council is continuing to issue warnings to residents who are reported to be in breach of the rules.”
Residents can check which level applies to their home, as well as the rules for each level, at the TRC website at www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/water or by calling TRC.