NSW warns Dubbo council: do more or face strict water restrictions
The Berejiklian government is threatening to slap strict water restrictions on Dubbo if local authorities do not do so themselves as severe drought conditions are expected to worsen.
The threat, contained in a letter sent to Dubbo Regional Council as it considered stepping up restrictions overnight, follows concerns within the Office of Local Government that the town had not made enough progress on bores for which the government had given it $30 million.
Despite drought conditions, Dubbo still allows residents to water lawns and gardens, fill pools without permission from local authorities and hose down cars.
"I have some concerns this level of water restriction does not reflect the criticality of the situation," Water Minister Melinda Pavey wrote in a letter to Dubbo's mayor Ben Shields and the council's chief executive Michael McMahon on Monday afternoon.
"The NSW government has levers available that would restrict water in Dubbo but I would prefer for council to consider the right level of water restriction for your community and region."
The advice provided to the government by the Office of Local Government warns the depletion of the Macquarie River, due as early as November, would "significantly impact Dubbo's water supply".
It suggests Ms Pavey could force Dubbo to lift its restrictions and speed up the delivery of the $30 million water supply project with the agreement of Health Minister Brad Hazzard.
"Given the lead-time required to undertake the planning, approvals and construction process for a borefield expansion (usually up to 12 months) it could be reasonably considered that an emergency situation exists, or will exist, in Dubbo if the work is not commenced immediately," it reads.
But the advice, obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald, also concludes that there is no evidence to suggest the council had refused to implement higher restrictions or undertake the water projects.
"The point of contention appears to be that the council is not addressing the risk as quickly as the NSW government believes it should be," it reads.
In a meeting overnight, Mr Shields was expected to propose an increase in restrictions from moderate to high, which would prohibit watering gardens except with drip systems, the filling of pools without permission and the rinsing of cars with hoses.
DRC is currently using well under its allocations of its underground water supply.
DRC chief executive Michael McMahon
Nearby regional centres including Bathurst already have high levels of restrictions and are moving to extreme levels next month, prohibiting the watering of any lawn, washing cars and requiring residents to limit time in the shower to only four minutes per person each day.
The $30 million borefield project was announced in June.
But Mr McMahon said WaterNSW had not yet reduced its allocation to Dubbo Regional Council.
"DRC is currently using approximately 10 per cent or less of the releases from Burrendong Dam and using well under its allocations of its underground water supply set by the government," he said.
"DRC is working very closely with the [Regional Town Water Supply Coordinator] James McTavish and meets regularly as part of his steering committee.
"DRC has not had any correspondence with Office of Local Government and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in regards to concerns about the ‘borefield’ project."
Ms Pavey confirmed that she had written to Mr Shields and Mr McMahon to "determine whether they have the capability to complete the [borefield] project".
"If the council doesn't have the capability to deliver the project, the NSW government will intervene," she said.