AS of 9am Monday, residents of the Bathurst region will need to be much more vigilant over their water use.
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Last month, councillors voted to impose water restrictions on November 26 if Chifley Dam had not reached 75 per cent capacity by November 12.
When the deadline arrived, the dam was well below that figure and has remained so for the last two weeks.
As of November 20, the dam was at 57.8 per cent.
It has been more than 20 years since Bathurst was last on water restrictions, they being imposed in December,1997.
The restrictions, which were lifted in mid-1998, consisted of banning fixed sprinklers.
Residents won’t have it as easy this time, with the restrictions placing limits on the days of watering, the timing of watering and the duration of watering.
READ MORE: Your guide to water restrictions in Bathurst
The city will operate on an odds and evens system, where residents living in even numbered properties can only water on even numbered days of the month and vice versa.
There is to be no watering by any household on the 31st of a month.
They will be limited to 30 minutes per day, only allowed to water between the times of 6am and 9am or 6pm and 9pm.
People can use whatever means they have to water lawns and gardens, including sprinklers, in-ground systems and hoses.
A full list of the restrictions can be found on council’s website.
When the vote to potentially impose water restrictions occurred, it was only a narrow victory.
As councillor Jess Jennings was absent from that meeting, mayor Graeme Hanger had to use his casting vote to break the tie.
But it turns out that the result would have been no different even if there was a full chamber.
Cr Jennings said he likely would have voted for imposing water restrictions, knowing it was about preparing for the 2019-20 summer.
“There’s a step up in the heat and duration of summer and I believe the reason [for restrictions] was to ensure we have enough water for next summer, not this summer; I think we can just scrape through this summer with what we have,” he said.
Although in favour of water restrictions, Cr Jennings wants to see the requirements reviewed, saying there was a big difference between Water Wise actions and the level three actions that will be enforced.
“They are a bit of a shock when there is such a contrast between no restrictions and level three,” he said.
He would also like protocols developed for summer and winter minimum dam levels to trigger water restrictions in future.
