South Australia, one of the drier places in the world has water restrictions which will really impact the way people live starting today. In the run up to the start of the water restrictions, residents went on a water consumption orgy, according to Ruperts Rag.
Adelaide's daily water consumption has jumped 50 per cent in the lead-up to water restrictions which begin at midnight tonight. A significant amount of the water has gone into pools, spas and lawns, with homeowners preparing for the restrictions which ban emptying or refilling existing pools.
Residents soaking their gardens before the tough water restrictions come into force, coupled with a lack of rainfall, also have contributed to the surge in water use.
SA Water said average metropolitan daily water use was 531 million litres this month compared with 356 million in October last year. Comparative figures for regional SA are not available.
The Level Two restrictions, the most stringent in the states history, are expected to cut the state's water consumption by 10 per cent a year. A 10 per cent cut to average household water use would save residents about $15 a year on their water bills. The Opposition said this was a poor cash reward for people saving water.
Household water use costs 47c for every 1000 litres for the first 125,000 litres a year and $1.09 for every thousand litres after that.
While the restrictions are good, seems to me that taxing excessive water use should be part of the process. We are encouraged to dob in violators of the new requirements, but hitting people in the pocket book is likely to be more effective in the long term. That is assuming that the State Government doesn't just pocket the money (which they are good at).
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