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Rain delivers reprieve from harsher water restrictions
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Water restrictions in Tyalgum could be lifted as early as tomorrow after weekend rain filled the newly refurbished village weir.
Across the rest of the Tweed, Level 2 restrictions will remain in effect but the move to Level 3 restrictions has delayed by at least 10 weeks.
Council has been tankering water to Tyalgum from the main town water supply since early November after the village weir level fell very low and the quality of the raw water was no longer suitable for treatment.
"Falls of up to 180mm in the catchment have given us the reprieve we so badly wanted," Manager Water and Wastewater Anthony Burnham said. "But we are not out of the woods yet and need good follow-up rain to fill Clarrie Hall Dam."
The weekend rain lifted the water level in the dam from 68 per cent on Friday to 79 per cent today and the Tweed River and its feeder creeks are flowing again.
"With the height of the Tweed River now at 1.2 metres at Bray Park Weir, we are no longer reliant on releases from the dam to supply drinking water to the community.
"But the rain in the catchment has now stopped and there is no more forecast for this coming week so we are still looking at life under Level 2 water restrictions for some time yet."
Mr Burnham said that further rains should deliver greater run-off into the dam and waterways as the thirsty soils would have soaked up much of the weekend rain.
Today Council begun work to get the Tyalgum Water Treatment Plant back online as the newly refurbished weir is full.
"We are working to lift all water restrictions in Tyalgum by as early as tomorrow but the restriction on carting water from that supply will remain in force."
Taking advantage of the time offline, Council sought urgent approval to undertake improvement and essential maintenance works at the weir.
Workers excavated 1.5 metres of silt out of the bottom of the weir, restoring the weir pool to its original footprint.
They stabilised the weir banks with rocks to prevent further erosion around the extraction inlet structure and to the adjacent land.
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Tweed urged to get back on track and save water now
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Tweed residents are urged to re-focus on saving water after the holidays to ensure the Tweed's drinking water supply lasts as long as possible.
Manager Water and Wastewater Anthony Burnham said up to Christmas the community responded well to Level 2 water restrictions (and Level 4 in Tyalgum) but since then consumption has been rising again.
"On our current trajectory, we will be introducing Level 3 water restrictions in early February and then the severest Level 4 restrictions by the end of February," Mr Burnham said.
"This timeline strongly demonstrates the very serious situation the Tweed faces and should prompt everyone to heed our call to action and save water now.
"We need to get back on track quickly as we cannot afford higher levels of water use as we only have one small dam supplying the entire community. Currently Clarrie Hall Dam is at 70.8 per cent capacity and falling nearly two per cent a week."
Mr Burnham said while Council would continue to promote and inform the community on what water uses were banned or limited under Level 2 restrictions, it would now ramp up compliance and enforcement actions.
"If anyone breaches the current water restrictions, they can expect a polite notice in their letterbox once. Any further breaches, they can expect a fine of $220 every time," he said.
Bureau of Meteorology figures have confirmed 2019 the driest year on record at Bray Park, with only 716.7mm of rain recorded, less than half the average of 1571mm. In 2002 when the Tweed last went to Level 4 water restrictions, the annual rainfall was higher at 767.5mm for the year.
Since records began there have only been five other years when the recorded rainfall at Bray Park dipped below 1000mm: 2002, 767.5mm; 1986, 846.0mm; 1915, 863.0mm; 1902, 742.6mm; and, 1885, 754.0mm.
The bureau also has confirmed that soil moisture levels are very low (heading towards the one percentile), suggesting that any rain received will be taken up by the soil and result in little to no run-off to replenish the water supply. What is needed is significant steady rain.
The outlook is poor, with the bureau forecasting a 35 to 40 per cent chance of receiving median rainfall or above from February to March - and only a 50 per cent chance of getting just 70 per cent of that amount.
On the temperature front, the bureau forecasts an 80 per cent chance of higher than median temperatures.
"These statistics and forecasts are evidence that the Tweed is in the grips of a prolonged and serious drought," Mr Burnham said.
"While we did receive 59mm in the catchment on Christmas Eve which allowed us to stop releasing water from the dam for three days, we are again releasing water every day to meet demand and the dam level is continuing to fall."
To find out how to save water and what the water restrictions mean for you, visit www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/savewaternow
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Mayor launches Save Water Now education blitz
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Tweed Mayor Cr Katie Milne today launched a massive education campaign to promote the message to Save Water Now by reminding residents that 'we're all in this together'.
Making her pitch to Christmas shoppers in person at Tweed City, Cr Milne urged everyone to get on board and make it a fun challenge to save as much water as possible.
"We are hoping on average everyone can save at least 50 litres of water per person per day," Cr Milne said.
"Fifty litres is only five normal household buckets. We would love you to save much more if you can."
Willow the Water Drop and Council officers assisted Cr Milne to hand out shower timers, mailbox and bumper stickers and a handy card about the level 2 water restrictions and how to save water in both the yard and the house.
"It's amazing how little water you can actually get by on," said Cr Milne. "Why not set up a competition between family members, friends or neighbours in your street to see who can save the most.
"We need everyone to pull together to reduce our use and save our limited supply.
"The dam is losing water much faster than predicted and significant rain is not predicted for months.
"Please forget about buying water using toys this year, but do spare a little for our thirsty wildlife by putting a small bowl of water in a strategic place in your garden."
The campaign will continue at Tweed City through to Sunday 15 December, before moving to The Pottsville Neighbourhood Centre and a street walk on Monday 16 December.
On Tuesday 17 December the Save Water Now campaign will be at the Kingscliff Shopping Village and on Wednesday 18 December at the Sunnyside Shopping Centre in Murwillumbah.
The campaign then returns to Tweed Heads on Thursday and Friday 19 and 20 December when it will set up at Tweed Mall, before returning to Tweed City on Saturday and Sunday 21 and 22 December.
Shoppers are urged to take the time to chat to the Save Water Now team about what they can do to save water.
For more information on level 2 water restrictions and ways to save water, see www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/SaveWaterNow and www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/WaterRestrictions. -
Save Water Now – Level 2 Water Restrictions in force from Friday 13 December
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Level 2 Water Restrictions come into effect for Tweed residents from Friday, 13 December.
The level of Clarrie Hall Dam is at 77 per cent and falling 1.8 per cent a week against an original estimate of one per cent a week.
Tyalgum customers remain on the most severe level of water restrictions at Level 4.
Council will launch its Save Water Now education campaign on Friday to raise awareness of what Level 2 water restrictions mean and how best to save water.
This week’s average water use figure of 194 litres per person per day shows that everyone has to find ways to save 50 litres of water a day, that’s five household plastic buckets; or, for a family of four, a standard bathtub filled to the brim.
The easiest way to save water is to reduce your outdoor water use, have shorter showers, fix any leaks and dripping taps and make sure your rainwater tank top-up system is working correctly and not being topped up by the town water supply unnecessarily.
For more information see www.tweed.nsw.gov.au/WaterRestrictions
