Level 1 Water Restrictions lifted

From December 1, 2020, Level 1 Water restrictions for Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains and Illawarra have been lifted and replaced with Water Wise Guidelines. This includes all residential and business consumers. Please see below for a summary of the new guidelines.

Under the guidelines, you can use drinking water to:

• water lawns and gardens before 10 am and after 4 pm using a hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, sprinklers or standard watering systems
• water new turf and gardens at any time for up to 28 days
• water lawns and gardens with drip irrigation systems or ’smart water systems’ at any time
• top up pools and spas to replace water lost through evaporation
• fill new or renovated pools and spas
• wash vehicles with a hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure cleaning equipment
• clean buildings (including windows, walls and gutters) with a hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or high-pressure cleaning equipment
• cool people and animals.

You can’t:

• allow water to run off onto hard surfaces
• leave taps and hoses running unattended
• allow pools or spas to overflow when being filled

The new Water Wise Guidelines also specify that for businesses you can now do the following:

• use water to clean paths, driveways, concrete or other paved areas for health, safety, emergency or surface contamination reasons and for construction activities using a hand-held hose fitted with an instant on-off mechanism, such as a trigger nozzle, or high-pressure water cleaning equipment
• use water for dust suppression if there is no alternative water source (such as recycled water) reasonably available
• use water to safely operate cutting, drilling and tunnelling equipment, or for pipe jetting.

Under the new guidelines you can’t:

• clean hard surfaces such as paths, driveways and paved areas with a hose or high-pressure cleaning equipment as part of general cleaning
• leave hoses and taps running unattended.

Exemption permits for households and businesses will no longer be required. For more information visit the Sydney Water website here.

The Landscape Association continues to work closely with NGINA and Turf NSW/Australia to strengthen our relationships with Sydney Water and the NSW State Government in order to ensure security for our industries in the event of a future drought.