Mullumbimby residents are asked to be vigilant with their water use as the local water supply at Lavertys Gap Weir is close to triggering Level 1 water restrictions.
The warning comes with the arrival of summer and bushfire season.
Byron Shire Council's Director Infrastructure Services, Mr Phil Holloway, said the stream flow from Wilsons Creek into Lavertys Gap Weir, which supplies Mullumbimby's water, has been steadily declining over the past month and currently is close to zero flows.
"This time last year Mullumbimby was already on Level 1 water restrictions and we saw restrictions escalate quickly to Level 3 and 4."
"The wet season has not arrived as predicted so it's essential we start modifying our water use now to avoid tighter water restrictions during the peak holiday season," Mr Holloway said.
Mr Holloway advised that Council is closely monitoring the flows and rainfall, and will continue to keep the community informed.
Although the Bureau of Meteorology reports December to February is likely to be wetter than average for nearly all of Australia, Council will activate Level 1 water restrictions if levels continue to drop and rain fails to arrive.
"Laverty's Gap Weir is extremely responsive to rainfall events but it can also experience sudden and substantial drops as well," Mr Holloway said.
"We are asking people to be prepared and voluntarily conserve water where possible, especially with regards to outdoor water use."
If implemented, Level 1 water restrictions include:
- No watering of established lawns using sprinklers or fixed hoses.
- Watering of gardens with a hand-held hose (for 1 hour) or irrigation system (15 minute max) between 4pm and 9am every second day, according to your house number. Odd house numbers on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and so on. Even house numbers on the 2nd, 4th, 6th and so on.
- All hoses must be fitted with on/off nozzles
The remainder of Byron Shire's water supply is provided by Rous County Council (RCC) which manages the Rocky Creek and Emigrant Creek dams. Rocky Creek dam is currently 90% full and RCC will bring in restrictions when that level decreases to below 60%.
