Cr Roz Frohloff
February 19, 2020
Recent storms have eased the need to tighten South Burnett water restrictions.
SBRC Water portfolio chair Cr Roz Frohloff told Wednesday’s Council meeting all the region’s dams had benefitted from February’s wet weather.
BP Dam’s level had risen from 4.8 per cent in mid-November to 20.8 per cent in mid-February.
Boondooma Dam had risen from 25.9 per cent to 34.2 per cent over the same period.
On January 22, levels at Gordonbrook were 45.5 per cent, down 1.5 per cent from December 20 but still more than before the rain.
Boobir Dam at Blackbutt was 19 per cent, up 7 per cent from December.
“While the drought certainly isn’t over, this recent rainfall has given us an extra 18 months to two years of supply,” Cr Frohloff said.
She said rain had also reduced pressure on Council to raise the current level of water restrictions.
At present, they are at Level 3, a limit introduced in March 2017.
Level 3 restrictions prohibit the use of sprinklers and hosing of paved or concreted areas.
They also restrict hand-held watering from 7:00am to 8:00am, and 5:00pm to 6:00pm, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for odd numbered houses and Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays for even numbered houses.
No residential watering is permitted on Mondays.
Cr Frohloff said plans to raise the restrictions to Level 4 have now been shelved.
However, current restrictions were unlikely to ease until the drought broke.
