Users connected to the Toowoomba Bulk Water Supply will move to low level water restrictions effective immediately.
As a result of the February rain event which filled the three dams in the Toowoomba Region, Water and Waste Committee Chair Cr Rebecca Vonhoff said Council had made the decision to ease water restrictions.
"This is great news for our residents who have been incredibly committed to water restrictions for years," Cr Vonhoff said.
"Water is our most precious resource and we couldn't have asked for more from our community who have conserved every drop.
"With all of our dams reaching capacity last month, it's time to relax the water restrictions from medium to low.
"This means users connected to the Toowoomba Bulk Water Supply will move from 175 litres per person per day up to 200 litres.
"In addition to this, there are further relaxations on when you can use water for other purposes, such as watering gardens, vehicles and general cleaning."
Areas connected to the Toowoomba Bulk Water Supply include: Blue Mountain Heights, Crows Nest, Goombungee, Gowrie Junction, Gowrie Mountain, Hampton, Highfields, Cabarlah, Hodgson Vale, Kingsthorpe, Meringandan, Oakey, Jondaryan, Toowoomba City, Westbrook and Wyreema.
While the easing of water restrictions is positive for the community, Cr Vonhoff said it was important for some form of water restrictions to remain.
"With our dams full I imagine some residents would like to see water restrictions removed completely however, we don't have to look too far back in time to realise how quickly water storage levels can change," she said.
"In 2010 our dams were almost empty before we reached capacity following the 2011 floods.
"In the 10 years since then we've been on permanent water restrictions and have been pumping water from Wivenhoe Dam for the past few years, however even with these measures in place, our combined storages dropped as low as 30.3% in October 2021.
"This has reinforced the need for us to continue being responsible with our water use and supports our desire to identify long-term water supply options for our Region."
For more detail on water restrictions, please visit www.tr.qld.gov.au/water or contact Council on 131 872.
