MORE residents have been sent a courtesy letter from Bathurst Regional Council to remind them of the rules around water use as complaints increase.
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Over the month of September, council received a total of 12 new complaints/inquiries from the community, taking the total to 364, while 14 new cases required a courtesy letter to be sent.
Council has sent a total of 230 of these letters.
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The number of new complaints had been declining since March, with the increase coinciding with the easing of water restrictions, which occurred on August 28.
There were five for 35 new complaints in March, 20 in April, 13 in May, five in June, 2 in July, and then just one in August.
The new complaints in September are being actioned and council's director of Engineering Services, Darren Sturgiss, noted that there have been no new warning letters or fines issued.
He also indicated that false complaints continue to be an issue.
"In some cases, complaints appeared to have been vexatious, as no evidence of non-compliance could be found on inspection of the relevant property," he said in his latest water security report.
Water consumption increased over the month of September, which was to be expected with the switch from level four to level three water restrictions.
Demand on the town water supply averaged 9.4 megalitres per day, compared to 8.8ML/day in August.
Although usage has increased, it is still below expectations.
"This is an excellent result from the Bathurst community. Residential consumption for the last month has averaged 131L/person/day, which is well below the 2014 Drought Management Plan expectations of 219L/p/d for level three, and 183L/p/d for level four; this consumption is well below level five (159) and is just above level six (129) requirements," Mr Sturgiss said.
He told the Western Advocate recently of the kinds of numbers council would like to see over the summer months to make the most of a now full Chifley Dam.
"Ideally, council would like to see water consumption under 200L/p/d over summer (high level water restrictions aim to achieve 219L/p/d) - this figure would enable residents to use water conservatively indoors and outdoors, to maintain gardens and lawns, wash cars and use water for recreational purposes," he said.
Residents are encouraged to refer to council's website to ensure they are complying with the current water restrictions, which now allow car washing and watering of gardens and lawns.