MidCoast Council continues to implement long term water security measures to prepare for future drought, while relaxing restrictions. 

As of tomorrow, Friday 21 February, water restrictions will be lifted across the MidCoast as a result of strong recent rainfall, available flow in the Manning River, the ability to fill Bootawa Dam and long term forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Council would like to send a big thank you to the entire community who worked hard to significantly reduce water usage in accordance with restrictions and would urge everyone to continue with their water saving habits into the future.

“With the lifting of restrictions we will move back to our normal ‘Summer Water Savers Program’ that encourages mindful use of water at home and largely continues the water saving efforts that everyone has already been implementing,” said Rob Scott, MidCoast Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Engineering Services.

“We really couldn’t have gotten through the worst drought in more than 140 years without the commitment and perseverance of our community and we’re very thankful for their efforts.”

Mr Scott also said it’s important for the community to understand that the decision to lift restrictions is not taken lightly. Council can only legislatively impose water restrictions when there is a definite shortage of water or where the capacity of the system is not able to keep up with demand.

“We know that our system is one of the last ones to enter water restrictions. Our water restrictions can be quite harsh, however we also come out of restrictions quite fast once flows return to the Manning River,” Mr Scott said.

“Fortunately, our region has been able to recover and regenerate quite quickly but our long term water security doesn’t stop here. We’ll be updating our long term strategies, engaging with the community and working on plans to ensure our water supply infrastructure is able to adapt to our changing climate and meet future demands.

“We have also proven the viability of the alternative water supply available through the bore field at Nabiac and shown that this can be increased over the short term to meet our demands so we don’t run out of water.”

In particular, Council will progress the existing long term proposals to build new dams at Peg Leg Creek and Gloucester as well as increasing the size of the existing storage at Stroud. Mr Scott advised the community will play a big part in these projects moving forward.

“We will still be aiming to increase the recycling of water and will continue to work on the affordability of supply across the region,” he said.

“The bottom line of this experience is that together we have been able to manage our water supply system through the worst drought on record and we should all be proud of that.”

For more information about our water supply or for water saving ideas and tips head to Council’s website https://www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/Water-Services.

 

 

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