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Further Call To Cut Water Consumption

East Gippsland Water is reiterating its call to all customers dependent on the Mitchell River System* - including those in Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance and Metung ¨C to save as much water as possible.

By East Gippsland Water - 12th June 2007 - Back to News

The message coincides with the start of the long holiday weekend and is also targeted at tourists to the region.

In addition, it follows a recent incident where one business owner failed to address a leaking pipe for some days, wasting many litres of water and forcing the Authority to threaten to shut down the supply unless a repair was carried out promptly.

Said East Gippsland Water¡¯s acting Chief Executive Officer, John Groom: ¡°Recent rainfall hasn¡¯t lessened the seriousness of the current situation for those reliant on Mitchell water. Stage 4 Water Restrictions, (the highest level), are set to remain in place for some time to come as we do all we can to bolster drinking supplies. This means there¡¯s no room for complacency.

¡°We¡¯re not dealing with a drought, but a poor water quality issue. Staff are working round-the-clock to produce enough drinking water to meet demand, from a river still heavily contaminated with soil and debris following bush fires six months ago.

¡°A further priority is to produce enough additional water to help replenish depleted Mitchell storages, the largest being Woodglen Reservoir, which are now less than 30% full.

¡°While we¡¯ve been making encouraging progress on initiatives to increase water production ¨C such as water bores, clarifiers and water settlement dams ¨C the situation is delicate and any increase in consumption could knock back advances being made. It¡¯s a far from easy task to install and ensure consistent reliability from the range of equipment required, given the immense logistical complexities inherent in such a mammoth operation. Not least amongst these are the unpredictable and varying contamination levels in the Mitchell River itself.

¡°We greatly appreciate all the action that¡¯s been taken by customers over the past weeks to conserve water and it¡¯s important we all continue to save as much water as we can to help ease the current situation as quickly as possible.¡±

Some simple ways to conserve water include:

• ensuring compliance with Stage 4 Water Restrictions. A brochure covering restrictions is available from East Gippsland Water¡¯s Bairnsdale office (133 Macleod Street) during business hours. Details of restrictions can also be viewed or downloaded from its website www.egwater.vic.gov.au
• limiting showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off - ideally a maximum of three minutes. This could save thousands of litres of water a year; and
• repairing any leaks on properties, including from dripping taps;

More follows/¡­

Under Stage 4 restrictions water must not be used to clean boats, unless the cleaning is required for health and safety reasons. Boat motors may be flushed to manufacturers¡¯ recommendations to prevent damage from salt water, though as little water as possible should be used.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

* Mitchell River System customers are those connected to an urban water supply serving Walpa, Lindenow South, Lindenow, Bairnsdale, Eagle Point, Newlands Arm, Raymond Island, Paynesville, Sarsfield, Bruthen, Nicholson, Johnsonville, Swan Reach, Metung, Kalimna, Lakes Entrance, Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust, Lake Tyers Beach and surrounding areas.

Stage 4 Water Restrictions

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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