TAMWORTH Regional Council could be set to crackdown on local businesses as it looks for more ways to rein in water use in the city.
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The main supply for the city, Chaffey Dam, has fallen below 28 per cent capacity and level four water restrictions will come into effect once it plunges below 25 per cent.
While the next level of restrictions will see outdoor watering banned, the council is already mulling ways it could conserve even more water.
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At its next meeting, the council will vote on a $150,000 audit of local businesses deemed to be "large water users which consume more than 3.5 megalitres per year".
If councillors vote in favour of the audit, an external consultant will be brought in to go over businesses' water use with a fine tooth comb and suggest ways to be more efficient.
It is part of a raft of measures being put to the councillors by water sustainability officer Ian Lobban.
Other measures in Mr Lobban's report include: distributing information packs to accommodation providers, deferring the need for some landscaping actions on new developments and initial plans to expand water supplies should level five restrictions come into effect.
"There will be a series of dam level triggers that when reached will activate actions such as percentage cuts to business and industry, when emergency bore supplies are sourced, or when a final level is reached whereby all remaining water is maintained for critical human needs only," Mr Lobban's report said.
Some other water saving suggestions include seeking approval from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health to use recycled sewerage for future road constructions projects.
The report also suggests sending a letter to properties with "lush green lawns requesting advice" on how they've maintained their lawn under the current restrictions.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
