Dusty Hastings Breaks Yearly Record for Daily Water Usage

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

The Hastings has set a record for the year by consuming a record-breaking amount of water for one day, as residents turned on their hoses to wash away debris left behind from last week's dust storms.

While Port Macquarie Dam inches closer to being 100% full, the flow down the Hastings River continues to decrease. Saturday's excessive water consumption of more than 25 million litres (ML) challenged Council's ability to replace the amount used.

The average consumption this month has been about 18ML. Saturday's usage is equivalent to what the region would expect during peak summer holiday periods.

As the Hastings river flow falls, Council will now only pump enough water to match daily demands.

Council's water operations engineer Robert Scott said while we have two dams full of water, residents must be mindful that if pumping from the river is restricted or banned, daily water consumption will not be replenished and the dam levels will fall quickly.

"This is why we have permanent water conservation measures in force right across the Hastings to ensure that every time we turn on the tap we are mindful of how much water we are using," Mr Scott said.

Significant fines between $220 and $2200 are in place for water misuse.

Residents are reminded that watering of gardens and use of sprinklers and hoses are only permitted on odd and even days according to house number before 10am and after 4pm with no watering on the 31st day of the month.

Cleaning of vehicles however, can be done on any day and at any time, but must occur on a grassed area - NOT the driveway or road. The hose must also be fitted with a cut-off trigger or control nozzle.

The hose CANNOT be used to wash dust off footpaths or driveways.