Water Restrictions

they shouldnt do that i agree with the bigger fines i think that could work i hope it gets better for you

They should think about this before it gets to that stage I guess. They're getting fair warning now of the penalties that are involved, and if they continue to waste water then that's their problem. And I think the government will be sensible about the limits allowed to households - I don't think they're going to penalise those people who accidentally stay in the shower too long, but rather those who water their gardens 24/7, or those who wash their car every day, or fill their swimming pools all the time, or takew in the neighbourhood's washing without declaring themselves as a business. I agree, under normal circumstances a fine would be the best way to go, but how long will it be before water is worth more than gold? And less easily replaceable? I think the Vic government is trying to delay that day as long as possible, and is using these scare tactics to get through to those people who are so arrogant they think the water restrictions don't apply to them.

There has been a prohibition on installing a rain water tanks in the Melbourne and Geelong areas for over 60 years now and it was because the MMBW (Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Water) was responsible for supplying water to the households there, and of course they got paid for it, so didn't want any competition from people with their own tanks. This law was repealed only in the past couple of years though. Unfortunately people started to overuse water many years ago and a ban on using sprinklers, hoses to wash cars, wash down driveways and gutters was introduced into Victoria a couple of years ago. This hasn't proven to be enough of a deterrant and so Victoria is running out of water, or more specifically Melbourne and other larger towns, which is why they have bought in this new rule. They are not denying people water, but rather limiting the amount they can receive/use. Many people, particularly in the cities, do not realise the severity of the water shortages now facing our country, because they have been able to get running water all the time, i.e. turn on the tap and out the water comes. So whilst this idea might seem harsh it might bring home to people to take more care of this precious commodity and use less water. What the government is actually doing is reducing the pressure but people will still get water, just not at the great flow it was until now. They will still get enough water to shower etc, drink, cook etc but it will just be delivered at a slower rate. Do I feel sorry for them? No I don't because it might help people realise the seriousness of the situation. We live in the country and so are well aware of the water shortages and have always taken care in the amount of water we use. Some towns in Australia have been trucking in water for a couple of years now. One of those is Goulburn and they have also had a limit of so many litres per person per day. Should the fine be larger rather than cutting water off? No, because many people would not be able to afford the fine and fining people wouldn't reduce their water usage anyway. Certainly it is up to the State Governments to either hand over the responsibility of the water to the Federal Government or start building desalination plants or something else, so that there is sufficient water for everyone. This has not been done for many years now and the population has grown considerably. As a matter of interest we were down in Melbourne the week before Christmas and for the first time ever saw that the parks are no longer green as they are not being watered. This is a step in the right direction and might help people realise the crises we are facing with the drought and shortage of water. Now I will step down off my soapbox on this subject. LOL

In South Africa, we've had water restriction since 2005 due to the low water reservoirs. Each house hold was permitted a certain amount of units of water per month at the normal fee rate, everything above that was heavily fined. The municipalities enforced the following restrictions: 1. No watering of gardens between the hours of 10:00 and 17:00 hours. 2. You ccan only water your garden for up to one hour twice a week. 3. The use of irrigation systems and sprinklers is prohibited. 4. Only a single hand-held hose, buckets or watering-cans may be used. 5. When irrigating a garden, park, or sports field from a potable water source utilising a hose, the hose shall not be left unattended without the use of a controlling device. 6. No person shall without prior written authority from the Council hose down a hard-surfaced or paved area using water from a potable source. 7. A hosepipe used for washing vehicles, boats, and caravans shall be fitted with an automatic self-closing device. 8. All automatic-flushing urinals shall be turned off in all buildings during times when such buildings are normally vacated by the public and/or staff other than cleaning staff. Although people complained against the inability of the municipalities to prevent the shortage of water before enforcing such restrictions, most of the citizens in the Western Cape provinces starting abiding to these rules, and we were able to prevent a complete water shortage for the rest of the summer season. I think that goverments are all guilty of not acting proactively to ensure the availability of water. They dont do enough planning for the future and taking into account the population growth. During the 2005-2006 period, the government of South Afria came under constant critisism from the public for this. Evereyone urged the government to start implementing actions to deliver more water...but then in the winter of 2006, we had ample rain and all of the damns are full again, and the government is suddenly all quiet again... Until the next water shortage...

I hope it keeps raining. It would seem like they could transport water in or have the closest people who have water sharing somehow. They sure need to create back up tanks and take precautions in case this could happen in the future. It would be good for everyone to start saving bottled water too. Some storage tanks would be great because you can always boil the water and add a few drops of clorox. Hope the problem is resolved soon.

i too agree.