Urgent call to curb excessive water use

Townsville residents have continued to exceed water consumption targets despite the threat of Level 4 restrictions.

More than 115ML a day was drawn in the past week (November 24-30), well over the Level 3 target of 100ML.

Mayor Jenny Hill said residents needed to share the burden of restrictions and urgently cut back on water use, particularly outdoors.

Weeper hoses were of particular concern with water patrol officers reporting a sharp rise in their use, Cr Hill said.

“While weeper or dripper hoses are allowable under the current restrictions due to their relatively low water use, they are designed to be used on garden beds, not lawns.

“Despite this, we continue to receive reports of people running them in open spaces all day, every day.

“To be clear, the Ross Dam is at 14.46% and falling daily. Unless consumption drops in line with current restrictions, we will be forced to re-examine allowances, and that includes weeper hoses.”

Compliance patrols have been stepped up with three cars now operating at various times throughout all suburban streets day and night, seven days week.

All calls to the new water hotline are also being investigated as a matter of priority, with officers responding to calls as they come in.

On the spot fines of $365 for an individual and $1828 for a company will be issued to those caught flouting restrictions with council warning residents may also be fined  based on photographic evidence provided by the public.

“These are tough measures and it’s sad that there are some in the community who continue to ignore the restrictions,” Cr Hill said.

“We have proven that we can meet the Level 3 targets, even on watering days.  So being forced to adopt Level 4 would only be due to people not doing the right thing.

“Townsville is drought declared and we are pumping water from the Burdekin Dam but it’s imperative we all do our bit to stick to the water restrictions in order to see us through.

“It’s also important to note that while the residents of Townsville are working to cut back their usage, we are calling on the State and Federal Governments to step up and address water security for the region in the long term. The City Deal process would be the perfect avenue for this.”

Council has further reduced irrigation in the city’s parks and gardens by 60% since last week, up from 44%.

Residents who see someone doing the wrong thing should call council’s water hotline on 1800 644 749.

Water consumption for the past week was as follows:

Suburbs inspected as a result of calls to the hotline include;