13 Dec 2021
Greater Hobart water restrictions reminder
From tomorrow, the greater Hobart area will be placed on stage 1 water restrictions.
Stage 1 restrictions aim to reduce non-essential water use by 20 per cent by encouraging more conscious use of water at home, outside, and at work.
The greater Hobart area includes all suburbs within the City of Hobart, along with Glenorchy, Brighton, Clarence, New Norfolk, Kingborough, Sorell, Kempton, Colebrook and surrounding suburbs.
TasWater Asset Management Services General Manager, Matt Derbyshire said that months of heavy rain has impacted on water quality. This coupled with essential maintenance at some of our water storages, has resulted in the need for stage 1 water restrictions.
“High rainfall has caused an increase in sediment, or turbidity, in the Derwent River catchment and storages. This turbidity means that we need to slow water production at our Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant to ensure that our treated water is clean and safe to drink.
“These restrictions are based on advice from our engineers, scientists and field operators who monitor our systems across the state.”
Stage 1 water restrictions require only small changes to how people use water, but even small changes can have a significant impact on the amount of water available in the system.
“Many factors were considered before implementing restrictions for the Hobart area. We are expecting continued wet weather over the coming months, leading to slower production at our Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant as well as an increase in demand due to warmer summer days,” Mr Derbyshire said.
“Implementing these restrictions will help us ensure water is available when residents, visitors and businesses turn on their taps.
“We thank the community for their cooperation to reduce water use and encourage all Tasmanians to consider their water use, as it is a precious and finite resource.
“TasWater is working on water surety improvements for the greater Hobart drinking water supply to increase the capacity of the system into the future.”
Greater Hobart will be on stage 1 water restrictions until 28 February 2022 unless conditions allow us to remove them earlier.
To see a map of the area that stage 1 restrictions apply to visit the TasWater website, www.taswater.com.au.