Look, we all know the drought is really, really bad in rural NSW, right? But how many of us coastal dwellers are aware just how intense the drought is in Sydney?
If you’re not so sure, we have news for you. As detailed in the SMH here yesterday evening, the drought situation is intensifying, and Sydney is not exempt. Dam levels are dropping at alarming rates and consequently, the talk of Sydney water restrictions looks set to become a reality soon.
How soon? Well, the NSW government cabinet is expected to discuss an action plan next week, to determine how it will address the issue. It is reviewing a plan to implement water restrictions with tougher guidelines than those detailed in the 2017 Metropolitan Water Plan, for fear that they aren’t sufficient. A spokeswoman for the NSW Water Minister said that “the current depletion rate and drought conditions mean Sydney should expect formal water restrictions soon if there is no rain”.
Sydney Water have commented that dam levels are “dropping faster than they have in decades”, and indeed “faster [in the last two years] than the average rate during the Millennium Drought.” Crazy, right? For example, Cataract Dam is down to 29.8 per cent, Cordeaux Dam is down to 40.3 per cent and Warragamba Dam, greater Sydney’s largest, is down to 55.1 per cent which is almost a 20 per cent decline on a year ago. Combined, greater Sydney dam levels are at 53.8 per cent. These figures are correct at time of writing, but you can check them out for yourself right here.
So what does this all mean for us? Well, at the current rate of decline, the combined dam levels will fall below 50 per cent in about 10 weeks. This would trigger the implementation of water restrictions, although, as we said, we don’t yet know how tough these will be. It all depends on what the NSW government decide.
What we do know though, is that we will no longer be able to water our lawns, wash our cars, and have lengthy showers at will. Of course, we should be responsible with these kinds of things anyway!
In summary, we think that one of the greatest counters to water shortage problems is catching and saving it when we can. Enter one of the greatest devices on the planet; rainwater tanks. Too big a call? Who could say? But really, what could be more proactive about the threat of drought than catching and storing rainwater whenever you can, for later use when it’s less available?
We manufacture a large range of quality, good looking round water tanks, slimline water tanks, underdeck water tanks, vertical underground tanks and more, which we deliver throughout the Newcastle, Sydney, Illawarra, South Coast, Canberra and Southern Highlands regions. You can check out all of our tanks by viewing them here. Or, you can just download our latest catalogue, or contact us today to discuss your rainwater tank requirements. We would love to hear from you!
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