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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-30 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

WATER RESTRICTIONS

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD (Chaffey—Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water Security) (15:25): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. K.A. MAYWALD: I am pleased to advise the house that, as of Monday 3 November, greater flexibility will be introduced into our current enhanced level 3 water restrictions. In recognition that some gardens may require a midweek watering as summer approaches, households will have the option of spreading their current three-hour a week watering times across two days. Hours of watering will remain the same at a maximum of three hours per week, but householders will have more options regarding how they split those hours.

I acknowledge the magnificent effort that South Australians have made in reducing water consumption and, as a result, the government believes that there is now scope to introduce added flexibility within the current system. The advice that I have received from the SA Water Customer Council, the Urban Water Drought Reference Group and gardening professionals is that such a flexible arrangement will reduce the risk of over-watering and provide a better chance of our trees and gardens surviving yet another dry summer.

In adopting these new arrangements, I am sure the overwhelming number of households will do the right thing, as they have already demonstrated since the introduction of enhanced level 3 restrictions. SA Water will be carefully monitoring water use every week and keeping track of any trends in increased water use.

All indications are that the state is facing only average rainfall this summer, so all South Australians must continue to be vigilant. Under the new arrangements within the current restrictions regime, hand-held hoses or drippers will be permitted for a maximum of three hours a week during the following times: even numbered houses on Tuesday and Saturday, 6-9am or 6-9pm; odd numbered houses, Wednesday and Sunday, 6 to 9am or 6 to 9pm. The current rules that allow watering cans and buckets to be used any time on any day of the week remain unchanged. While the state government is not relaxing or easing water restrictions, we are building more flexibility into the system for householders.

The latest SA Water statistics show that South Australians continue to demonstrate their willingness to reduce water consumption since the peak drought year of 2002. This year to date we have saved 40 billion litres of water compared to the same time in 2002. South Australians have also embraced the state government's H2OME Rebate Scheme, which is estimated to have saved hundreds of millions of litres of water around homes across the state.

The community is continuing to respond exceptionally well to restrictions, and recent water savings show that householders are keen to play their part in conserving water. The state government is now placing greater trust in the community to keep watering to a minimum while offering more flexibility in how that water is used.

I am confident that, with these changes in place, the community can continue to build on the substantial savings that have already been achieved. We all have a responsibility to keep saving water during this drought and into the longer term.

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