Bathurst Regional Council’s long-standing reluctance to introduce even minor curbs on local water usage has at sent a poor message to both its own residents and those living in neighbouring cities that have, at times, endured strict restrictions.

We have advocated, at least, the imposition of sensible water-saving measures such as a ban on using hoses to clean driveways and the watering of lawns and gardens in the heat of the day.

So while we must support council’s shock move last month to finally move to restrictions at the end of November if the water level at Ben Chifley Dam does not hit 75 per cent by Monday (which it certainly won’t), we must question whether council has swung too far to the other extreme.

From Monday, November 26, Bathurst region residents will be limited to watering their lawns and gardens for just 30 minutes, morning and night, on every second day of the week.

An odds and evens approach is a standard for most water restrictions, but the time allowed for watering can vary greatly and the half-hour proposed for Bathurst is at the very extreme end of the scale.

Indeed, right now in Orange – where water security is a much greater concern than it has ever been in Bathurst – an odds and evens water restriction is in place but residents are allowed to water for up to two hours, morning and night, on every second day.

That is four-times the allowed watering time proposed for Bathurst, despite Orange having far greater water concerns than we have.

Clearly, one of the councils has got it very wrong on watering times – and Bathurst’s keenest gardeners will be in no doubt about which council that is.

Having been on the wrong side of the water restrictions debate for so long, Bathurst Regional Council has tried to fall in line with common thinking across the state, only to have got it wrong again.

Residents deserve an explanation of how council has, in one fell swoop, gone from the most lenient position possible on water restrictions to one of the strictest.

It may be making up for lost time, but council will have lost even more support along the way.