Sydney’s water restrictions - what you need to know
Our driest spell since 1888
Warragamba Dam
Source: SBS.com
For the first time in a decade, Sydney Water is enforcing water restrictions to individuals and businesses. Dam storage levels are now at 53% capacity, down from 95% two years ago.
We all know that parts of regional Australia are in the midst of a serious drought. Lack of rainfall is now affecting city residents with Level 1 water restrictions in place from 1st June 2019.
May 2019 saw the lowest recorded rain levels since 1888 in Greater Sydney. Rainfall since the start of April has been just 25.8mm. This is expected to continue over the winter months, with low rainfall predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology.
More than 85% of Greater Sydney’s water supply relies on rain. This means that our water is in short supply during these prolonged drought periods.
Sydney Water have started level 1 restrictions early, ahead of the predetermined 50% capacity limit. If dam levels reach 40%, then level 2 restrictions come into play.
Level 1 restrictions, what are they?
Water restrictions apply to everyone in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra. This includes both residents and businesses.
Here are a few key water restriction rules:
- Watering, including with sprinklers and irrigation systems, is allowed any day before 10 am and after 4 pm
- All hand held hoses must have a trigger nozzle
- No hosing of hard surfaces such as paths and driveways.
- Washing vehicles is allowed with a bucket or hose fitted with a trigger nozzle
- Fire hoses may be used for fire fighting activities only.
This table provides a good overview of what is and isn’t included in Level 1 water restrictions.
Fines for not following these restrictions is $220 for individuals and $550 for businesses.
Maintaining good water quality at home during restrictions
It is important to have a high quality home water filter system installed at all times, particularly in times of water restrictions.
At WFA we keep the good stuff in and take the bad stuff out of your water, so it’s even better for you.
All of our filter cartridges not only remove bad taste and odour, but also remove contaminants including giardia, cysts, cryptosporidium, and chlorine.
With a WFA water filter system, you and your family and your pets are safe from the impurities you can’t see…nasties as small as one micron, which is 1/75th the width of a human hair! We leave the flouride in the water, helping keep your family’s teeth healthy.
Explore our water filter systems.
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Inline Water Filter System
$299 - No separate tap or drilling needed
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Bathroom Vanity Filter System
$199 - Compact for en suite bathrooms
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Dedicated Filter Tap System
$329- Ideal if you like a separate filter tap
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Replacement Filter Cartridges
From $60.66- WFA & Everpure cartridges
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Water Filters for Your RV
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Counter Top System & Filter Taps
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WFA Replacement Cartridges
From $60.66 - Inhibits lime scale build up in water using appliances
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Rain Water Filters
From $35.24 - Ideal screen filter for sediment particles in excess of 80 microns.
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RV & Marine Cartridges
From $60.66- Compact size
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Everpure
From $104.74- The Everpure 7CB5-K cartridge filters out particles between 1 and 5 microns in size. By way of comparison, the diameter of human hair is 75 microns.
- Contaminants reduced/removed include sediment, chlorine, bad tastes and odours.
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Omnifilter
From $36.93- The 1100R is the half micron ‘quick change’ replacement cartridge and is recommended for use with the Omnifilter CBF2 water filter system.
- Removes/reduces the following contaminants and substances; cysts such as giardia and cryptosporidium, chlorine, bad tastes and odours.
Fridge Filter Cartridges
From $71.72- Contaminants removed include chlorine, bad tastes and odours with some sediment removal/reduction.
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Specials
From $66.97- A 2 year supply*. Receive a reminder notification to change to your second cartridge.
- Larger quantities purchased receive a larger discount.
Jugs
From $15.74- Simple and easy to use
- Removes/reduces sediment, chlorine, cadmium and mercury
- Filter change every two months
- More economical than bottled water
- Environmentally friendly, reducing plastic bottle landfill waste