Water demand continues to cause concern in Western Bay

High water use across the whole Western Bay District is continuing to put pressure on reservoir levels, prompting a reminder to the public to keep conserving water as much as possible.

Council’s water warning remains at high across all communities, but restrictions have been avoided to date.

Despite cooler days and a few showers giving some reprieve, Council’s Utilities Manager Kelvin Hill says dry conditions will continue over January and February – making the District vulnerable to water shortages and the possibility of restrictions.

“It doesn’t take much of a temperature rise in any one day for water use to rise sharply – and even though we have had cloudy, cooler days and some rain – we are certainly not out of the woods.”

However Kelvin says the public has been great at responding to Council’s call for water conservation, resulting in reservoir levels being maintained with sufficient capacity to date.

“Thank you to everyone who is heeding our call – it really does make a difference. I urge people to keep their feet on the brake. We have another peak of holiday makers coming to the District this month - so January and February are crucial months for everyone to ease up on their water use so we can hopefully avoid bringing in restrictions this summer.”

Reservoirs must maintain a constant 50 percent minimum water level to meet the daily demands for drinking water.

Get more information on how to conserve water here.