Level 2 water restrictions will be introduced for Tyalgum residents at 11.59 pm on Thursday 26 October 2023 unless there is significant rainfall.
Water and Wastewater Business and Assets Manager Michael Wraight urged Tyalgum residents, businesses and visitors to save water now and meet the Level 2 water use target of just 140 litres a day per person to prolong the village's water supply.
"Tyalgum's drinking water is sourced from the weir pool on the upper Oxley River. The river is down to a trickle and the amount of water in the weir pool is dropping fast," Mr Wraight said.
"We ask the Tyalgum community to please save water, starting right now, in the days leading up to Level 2 water restrictions.
"The community can take practical steps to reduce daily water usage, such as cleaning hard outdoor surfaces with a broom (not a hose), mulching gardens to prevent water evaporation, keeping showers to under four minutes, waiting for a full load to do the washing and fixing leaky taps, toilets and hot water systems.
"We're relying on everyone in Tyalgum to do the right thing. While we await significant rainfall, saving water wherever possible will help delay harsher water restrictions for the village."
Council is now distributing information to Tyalgum residents and businesses, summing up what they can and cannot do under Level 2 restrictions.
At Level 2, watering established lawns and using sprinklers, soaker hoses or drip irrigation is banned. Refilling pools and spas from empty and topping up ponds and fountains is also banned, except to keep fish or frogs alive.
Watering private gardens (not lawns) is permitted, using a trigger-controlled handheld hose, for 15 minutes before 9 am or after 4 pm. The odd/even house number system will be enforced, with no watering on the 31st of the month.
Washing private vehicles is also permitted, using a high-pressure, low-flow cleaner with trigger control, for five minutes, once every two weeks. Buckets are allowed at any time.
Topping up existing pools and spas is permitted, with a trigger-controlled handheld hose, before 9 am or after 4 pm only.
Washing dogs is permitted with a bucket at any time. Otherwise, a mobile or fixed-premises dog washer must be used.
Go to tweed.nsw.gov.au/water-restrictions-everyone#level-2 for the full list of level 2 water restrictions.
These restrictions also apply to Tyalgum businesses such as short-term rental providers. Go to tweed.nsw.gov.au/business-water-restrictions for details.
Council can impose fines of up to $2,200 to people who breach water restrictions. Report a breach by calling 02 6670 2400.
With El Nino declared for Australia's East Coast, Mr Wraight said the rest of the Tweed might head into water restrictions in the coming months unless there is significant rain.
"It's important that everyone who lives, works or visits the Tweed works together to save water now and make our supply of water last as long as possible," he said.
"Each of us will save 18 litres by cutting our daily shower by 2 minutes.
"If we put away our hoses and clean our hard outdoor surfaces with a broom instead, we each save a massive 20 litres a minute.
"Only using the toilet's half flush will save 10 litres a day.
"Some of the biggest culprits of water loss are leaky taps, toilets and hot water systems. You can save more than one litre an hour by fixing just one leaky tap, or up to 260 litres a day by getting a constantly running toilet fixed."
Mr Wraight added Council was working on a range of actions to secure the Tweed's water supply amid population growth and climate change.
"Since 2020, water carting from Tyalgum and Uki has been banned and whenever water restrictions are in force, water carting is banned elsewhere in the Tweed to locations outside our Shire," he said.
Council is currently completing planning works for the proposed raising of Clarrie Hall Dam to increase the volume of water that can be stored, securing our water supply in the face of climate change and population growth.
