Extreme weather events such as floods and droughts can put our drinking water at risk. Now more than ever we need to improve our strategies and methods to protect our precious water supply.
Tweed Shire Council has drafted a new Drought and Water Restrictions Policy based on experiences and learnings from the very significant 2019/2020 drought.
Acting Manager Water and Wastewater – Business and Assets Elizabeth Seidl said the policy sets out the best strategies and methods to maintain our water supply during extreme weather events, including restrictions, targets, compliance and enforcement.
“Extreme weather events are happening more frequently,” Ms Seidl said.
“In January 2020, 100% of NSW was drought-declared by the Department of Primary Industries and 2019 was the driest year on record for the Tweed.
“Bray Park recorded just 717 mm of rain, less than half the average of 1,571 mm of rain usually experienced (source: Bureau of Meteorology).
“Water restrictions were put in place and our water supply was at serious risk. While we have experienced plenty of rain recently, this doesn’t mean we aren’t at risk of drought again in the near future.”
During the recent flood, Council had to impose water restrictions to ensure adequate water supply. This allowed Council enough time to repair its water supply system.
“We’ve taken the learnings and experiences from the 2019/2020 drought and updated the Drought and Water Restriction Policy so we can protect our water supply,” Ms Seidl said.
“This Policy enables Council’s Water and Wastewater Unit to make operational decisions in relation to the implementation, easing and removal of water restrictions for the Tweed.
“We would like feedback from residents and businesses who are connected to the town water supply or use rainwater tanks topped up by a water carter from the town water supply.”
You can review the draft and share your feedback by competing the survey at www.yoursaytweed.com.au. Submissions close on 18 May 2022.
