Guide to Australia’s Water Restrictions

Guide to Australia’s Water Restrictions

Water restrictions across Australia vary and this can get confusing when trying to figure out what water conservation measures your state has in place and apply to watering your garden or lawn.

This article provides a state-by-state breakdown of residential water restrictions – not public gardens, lawns or sporting facilities. This article should be seen as a guide only, and you should check your local site for further information. Here is a guide to Australia’s water restrictions.

New South Wales

Outside of the Sydney, Blue Mountains, and Illawarra areas, water restrictions differ by the council, and you can find a list of these restrictions.

The Water Wise Guidelines are permanent water saving rules set by Sydney Water; that have replaced what was formerly known as level 1 water restrictions and apply to all homes and businesses.

Under these guidelines you can:

• Water lawns and gardens but only between 4 pm and 10 am.
• Water newly installed lawns or gardens for up to 28 days
• Top up or fill pools or spas
• Wash vehicles, buildings or sheds with a handheld hose or pressure cleaner
• Use a hose to cool people or animals

Under these guidelines you cannot:

• Leave any taps or hoses running unattended
• Allow pools or spas to overflow when being filled or refilled
• Allow water to run off onto hard surfaces like bitumen or concrete

Exceptions to these rules include; recycled water, greywater, water from a rainwater tank or dam provided not for drinking and bore water.

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory does not have any current water restrictions in place, with the exception of the Katherine area which is subject to Compulsory Water Conservation Measures.

These measures include watering days, allowing only three days of garden watering for homes based on odds and evens, with a total ban on Fridays.

Queensland

The Queensland Government has determined that water usage and restrictions outside of the South East Queensland area are to be determined by the different councils. Due to this different regions in Queensland have different water restrictions at any time. You can check if your area has current restrictions.

South East Queensland is governed by South East Water and water restrictions are applied when average dam levels drop below 50%.

Temporary water restrictions in different parts of the state may include watering days, watering with a bucket or watering can only, no washing cars, limited daily water use per home, no filling pools, and various others. Residents in many of these regions are encouraged to install a rainwater tank, as the price of the water tank will be offset by the lack of restrictions and any potential fines that may arise from breaching them.

South Australia

South Australia has adopted Water Wise Measures as a permanent water-saving plan, replacing previous water restrictions across the state.

These measures include specific hours for any automated sprinkler or irrigation systems, with handheld hoses or watering cans able to be used at any time.

Paved areas can only be hosed down to:

• Protect public health
• Ensure the safety, health and welfare of people or animals using the area
• Ensure the health and welfare of animals using the areas
• Deal with fire, accident or other emergencies

Tasmania

Tasmania has four levels of water restrictions, which get applied by region by TasWater depending on local water levels.  These restrictions are (the previous stage’s restrictions continue to apply):

Stage 1

• Automated sprinkler systems can only run between midnight and 4 am
• Manual sprinkler or drip watering systems can be sued between 6 am-8 am and 8 pm-10 pm
• Pools and spas over 2000 litres require an exemption from TasWater to be filled or refilled

Stage 2

• Automatic watering systems and handheld watering have allocated days. Watering lawns is not permitted.
• Cars cannot be washed with a handheld hose
• Pools may only be topped up for a maximum of 15 minutes per day

Stage 3

• Automatic watering systems are no longer permitted. Hardens may only be watered by handheld watering
• Vehicles can only be spot cleaned or cleaned for an emergency
• Pools and spas cannot be refilled or topped up without an exemption

Stage 4

• Gardens and lawns may not be watered at any time
• Pools and spas cannot be refilled or topped up

Victoria

Victoria has state-wide permanent water saving rules, implemented by Melbourne Water and The Victorian Government, as well as four stages of water restrictions that can be introduced when required.

Permanent Water Saving Rules

• Water from a handheld hose is not permitted unless the hose is fitted with a trigger nozzle.
• Lawns can only be watered by an automatic irrigation system between 6 pm and 10 am
• Any fountain or water feature must recirculate its water

Stage 1

• Watering of gardens and lawns by sprinkler system only allowed every second day
• Any pool larger than 2000 litres can only be filled in accordance with a Water Use Plan

Stage 2

• Lawns may no longer be watered at any time

Stage 3

• Hardens may only be watered using a dripper watering system or hand-watered between 6 am and 8 am on alternate days.
• Cars can only be spot cleaned to remove corrosive substances with a bucket or at a commercial car wash
• Existing pools and spas can be topped up on alternate days between 6 am and 8 am

Stage 4

• Gardens and lawns cannot be watered at any time
• Fountains and water features may not be filled or topped up at any time
• Existing pools or spas can only be topped up with a bucket or watering can

Western Australia

Western Australia does not have as many water restrictions as some of the other states, and the permanent rules in place mostly only apply to the watering of lawns and gardens. The up to date rules can be found here.

Scheme water users, or those with water provided by the Water Corporation, are allowed to water sprinklers between 6 pm and 9 am on two designated days per week. Bore water users are allowed a third day.