In Mackenzie district our water comes from a variety of rain-fed sources, and we have a range of local climates and average rainfall totals. We are a district which is growing with new properties being built and new people moving to join us. We are also starting to see the impacts of climate change and over the coming years our district will face increasing extreme weather conditions. This will have an impact on our water supplies.

It often seems that water is abundant, but drinkable tap water is not an infinite resource - only about 1.2% of the planet’s water is suitable for drinking. Safe drinking water is also expensive to produce and supply to our houses.

During extreme dry spells we put in place water restrictions to ensure we are all using water wisely. When we’re in a drought, we don’t know when it’s going to end, so restrictions are a smart and proactive way of conserving water and minimising wastage.

Our restrictions limit outdoor water use. This means we can focus on having water for use in our homes and for our commercial customers. It is important that people aren’t letting their hoses run wild when water is scarce.

We have five stages of water restrictions that we can apply during dry spells:

Five stages of restrictions