Level 3 water restrictions and fishermen

[Feral]

They announced a new dam down near Beaudesert the other day, but I did not get the name or any details.

[deb]

Geta battery/bilge shower hose, from car outlets for $20. They come with a trigger grip, but it is a 'shower', I changed it to a regular hose trigger and got enough pressure. It was just a matter of tossing the bilge pump that comes with it into a bucket on the boat and then hosing the soapy suds off. Helps if boat is in the shade though.

[webby]

I drive from the top end of Beaudesert Shire (where we have been on water restriction for a number of years, as our supply comes from Maroom Dam) to the north side every morning, and i can name two hotels and shopping centres whose automatic systems are pumping out water every morning, with no signs of Recycled Water anywhere to be read.
So how serious are they policing these restriction, when the above centres are pouring water onto there gardens and lawns every morning.
If they want the normal house hold to restrict their usuage and are fineing those they catch, why arent they enforcing it on some of these big business, or is it too early at 5am for the water inspectior to out of bed.
regards

[The_Walrus]

I remember a report on water usage where of the total water use in Australia, the amount used for domestic purposes was around 10% of total usesage.

So why are'nt the powers that be coming down heavily on comercial operation and fore them to use water more efficiently.

Mind you, from our point of view, sending water from the bathroom and laundry down the sewer is a complete waste.

Grey water systems should be the norm.

Luc

[allniter]

This topic caught my interest as i am self employed in the irrigation industry.
Level 3 restrictions WILL come into effect whether it rains or not.
It is only a matter of time, with any rainfall we recieve in the short term merely delaying the inevitable.
Only major flooding will cancel any new restrictions.
Most customers we meet to do a quote for, have the attitude
" it's my f#@king garden and i am not going to let thousands of dollars of plants and turf die".
An attitude i'm sure many aussies agree with.
They simply program automatic controllers to water there garden late in the evening.
Geewhiz...... i wonder if this attitude might come from the fact that water is wasted by government and commercial use on a daily basis.
So if they are not going to lead by example, why should we let our gardens die?,
can't flush our outboards or wash the salt off with a hose - pigs ring !.
and besides we pay for every kilolitre of water we use .
We also pay rates every year for councils to hopefully provide adequate infrastructure.
Be ready for a new "Water Upgrade Levy'" when they finally sort out a more substantial water supply for the future.
And those of you who can afford a bore, watchout because in the future that bore water in your own yard is going to be classed as "crown" water, so a meter will have to be installed so you can pay for that water too !
However about 15 years ago i remember a proposed dam was to be built at "Wolfdene" behind beenleigh/yatala near the bottom of tamborine mtn,
well.... the locals and treehuggers kicked up a storm and in the end no dam was ever built.
Is it true that one of the major dams has only ever been 80% full since new?
So at 40% capacity it is actually half full ?
Water restrictions affect a lot people and their income, not only the irrigation idustry.
Pool builders , landscape yards, nurseries, turf growers and more , will all feel a downturn in trade, with a lot of jobs lost.

[Tunzafun]

Is the drought responsible for our water shortage or is the government irresponsible in keeping up with demand as our population increases? The below link shows that over the last 36 months we are only 250mm down on average rainfall. Have a look.

http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climat...month&area=qld

Ok, so we are 250mm short but, lets take it in context. SE QLD has received between 2400mm and 4800mm in the last 36 months (dependant on location) The Gold Coast has recieved more! See link below.

http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climat...month&area=qld

So where is the water? As the previous posts correctly highlight, commercial usage is way above acceptable. Industry should be serious about recycling and grey water usage. Councils should be focussed on planning for new estates, not allowing single resident sites to be turned into apartment complexes that house multiple families rather than a singe family per site. That is without examining what the highrise developments are doing in water usage.

Pine Rivers Shire has (excuse the pun) hosed its residents over big time. From no meters, to meters and no charges, to annual charge and an excess water bill over a certain amount, to paying for every litre used all in a space of four years. No consultation with residents..... suck it up or move.

I will still wash my boat/4WD as needed. Yes I have a pressure washer and I only water enough for things to survive. I am conservative but, I see red when I hear the blame put on below average rainfall when climatic averages should be planned for. We need rain but, we also need our infrastructure experts to get serious about looking ahead. They are voted in, they can be voted out. If you are a politician and you want to get serious, think about the impact the water shortage is having because of the lack of forward planning and the greed of taxes on building permits! I own a boat, a 4WD, I fish and I vote!

[The_Walrus]

We definitely have to be much more efficient in our water use. It's got to be used more han once before going down the drain.

Household grey water should be used to flush the toilets and water the yard.

Spray irrigation in windy conditions is extremely wastefull. Coming back from a salt trip, my mate & I came across a field being spray irrigated. The road was getting a good drenching on every pass so we parked on the wet road and got a free car & boat wash.

Luc

[bungie]

As of today 1/3/06 "The Plumbing & Wastewater Code" came into being. Part of the regulations allows for the recycling of grey water to water lawn/plants.
Small catch. You will not be able to just dump your grey water onto the gardens and lawn as bacteria is being dumped to. Any descent rain and the back yard becomes a cesspool. So, you will need to treat the water, killing the bugs. Treatment plant $7-10 thousand dollars. Once you have treated the effluent, it gets sprinkled over your plants and lawn, but wait there’s more. Current regulations limit how close to fence lines, building, foot paths you can sprinkle.
Roughly. 2m from any house, fence, footpath, recreation areas. And 6m from any swimming pool. Remember the 4m diameter of the sprinkler in your calculation
Basically, the average Brisbane house block does not have enough lawn/gardens to be able to use this system.
The act does not force Councils to allow this system either, so don’t be surprised if your local Council says no.