Water restrictions during drought
Although there are currently no water restrictions in place, the Shoalhaven River is one of our greatest resources. When we experience ongoing dry weather, this can impact the river flow and in turn reduce our water supply and dam capacity.
When water restrictions are in place, we strongly encourage the community to conserve water.
Here's an overview on how they work:
Level one restrictions
Our main water source comes from the Shoalhaven River where large pumps transport water from the river into an off-creek storage dam west of Nowra. Water is pumped from the dam to our main water treatment facility for processing, and then throughout the community to homes and businesses.
Level one water restrictions are brought into place when we are unable to pump water from the river because river flows have become very low due to ongoing dry weather. When this occurs, we are relying on processing the water that is already in the storage dam.
When the level of the dam reduces to around 60% capacity, we release water from our backup water supply, Danjera Dam. The water released from this dam slowly makes its way into the Shoalhaven River and after a few days it reaches our pumping station at Burrier. We use this influx of water in the river to top up the supply at Bamarang Dam.
What you can do
Under our level one water restrictions, we encourage you to conserve our drinking water supply and only:
- Water the garden or lawn with a hand-held hose that is fitted with a trigger nozzle.
- Water the lawn or garden using a sprinkler or drip irrigation with a device that is fixed to a timer.
- Wash your vehicle or boat using a hand-held hose with trigger nozzle and if possible, do this on the grass.
- Top up your swimming pool or spa with a hose that is fixed to a timer.
Trigger nozzles on hoses and timers on sprinklers help prevent unnecessary water wastage.
Level two restrictions
Level two water restrictions are brought into place when the topped-up level of water in Bamarang Dam once again reduces to 60%. This is a second trigger to release water from Danjera Dam. This second release can deplete our backup water supply considerably.
Should the dry weather persist, and the river flows and dam levels remain low, we remain in water restrictions until such a time as all our dam levels are restored to full capacity.
What you can do
Under level two water restrictions, the same conditions apply as level one, but we ask a little more from you.
- Water can only be used between 6:00am to 8:00am and 6:00pm to 8:00pm
During water restrictions we must all work together to help conserve our drinking water supply. To help out, we have developed a range of suitable practices allowing you to still use water for non-essential activities outside of the home.
Please note: Washing down hard surfaces such as pathways, driveways, houses, and windows is not permitted and a request to clean hard surfaces purely for appearance will be declined.