A VIDEO that has gone somewhat viral in Bathurst has prompted a warning to others not to publicly shame people even amid frustrations about whether water restrictions are being followed.
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A video depicting a man allegedly breaching the city's level four (extreme) water restrictions accumulated close to 25,000 views on Facebook over the weekend.
The original post, which appears to have now been deleted, was also shared around 650 times on the site.
When contacted by the Western Advocate, Bathurst Regional Council said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on individual cases and wouldn't provide details on whether or not it was investigating the claims.
The situation, though, has raised questions about whether residents should be posting videos and photos online of people thought to be breaching the restrictions.
Councillor Alex Christian, who acknowledged the video on his public Facebook page, said people should refrain from doing it and contact council directly.
"I think people need to be very careful doing that kind of thing," he said.
"I understand people's frustrations when there's people out there flouting the rules, but doing things like that can be quite inflammatory."
He also discouraged people from posting addresses on social media, which has also been occurring.
Cr Christian said people don't know if someone has an exemption or an alternative water source at their disposal.
"Somebody could have a bore or tank water and they could be unfairly targeted," Cr Christian said.
If people want to report someone who's not following the rules, they should call the hotline on 6333 1683 or email waterrestrictions@bathurst.nsw.gov.au.
"Ultimately, to get a result, they have to go to council," Cr Christian said.
Extreme water restrictions came into effect on October 14, 2019.
Mayor Bobby Bourke said that people are largely abiding by water restrictions, but acknowledged that there have been some instances of people doing the wrong thing.
"I would like to thank and congratulate the majority of the community for following water restrictions," he said.
"The current consumption rate is around 160 litres per person per day, which is a wonderful effort.
"We need to remember that we are all in this together, so to see a small number of people flouting the system is disappointing."
Council has a full list of the restrictions on its website, along with the penalties that people could receive for doing the wrong thing.
