Central Coast water and sewer · Point 4 of 5: the garden tap
The Central Coast’s Water Wise Rules
The Water Wise Rules are the Central Coast’s permanent rules for using water outdoors: water the garden before 10am or after 4pm, fit a trigger nozzle to any hand-held hose, wash vehicles with a bucket or a trigger nozzle, on the grass where you can, and sweep paths and driveways rather than hosing them. They are not water restrictions, which Council’s Love Water page says begin once Mangrove Creek Dam’s water level reaches 50 per cent.
General information from Central Coast Council’s Love Water pages, not advice about a particular property or business. Love Water is the place to check the rules as they stand.
Who the rules apply to
Love Water says the rules apply to all outdoor water use, with the exceptions set out further down this page. The rules apply to anyone using water from the town supply, whether a household, a business, an industrial site or a government body. They come with a target: no more than 150 litres per person per day.
Love Water calls them simple rules that help everyone use water responsibly. Water restrictions are a separate set, which tighten in steps as the dams fall.
The rules, place by place
Love Water sets the rules out by where the water goes. Four of them are about a home’s garden, car and pool.
- Lawns and gardens
- Sprinklers, irrigation systems and hand-held hoses with a trigger nozzle may all be used, on any day, before 10am and after 4pm.
- Cars and boats
- Road vehicles, from cars to caravans, and boats with their trailers may be washed with a bucket, or with a hose as long as it has a trigger nozzle or is a pressure cleaner. Flushing a boat engine with a hose is allowed.
- Paths and driveways
- No hosing. The rule’s own reminder is to reach for a broom instead.
- Private pools
- Topping up an existing pool with a hose from the town supply is allowed.
The same before-10am, after-4pm watering hours apply to bowling greens, golf greens, cricket pitches, nurseries, commercial gardens, sporting fields, school ovals and other grassed areas. Auto-flush urinals may not run on a timer. Customers using more than 3,500 kilolitres a year, and hotels, motels, resorts, caravan parks and public pools, are asked to prepare and carry out a Water Management Plan.
Exceptions for households
Two exceptions are written for homes. A new lawn may have sprinklers and watering systems as needed for 14 days from the day it goes in; after that, the usual hours apply. And a path, driveway or other paved surface may be hosed during construction, or for reasons of health, safety, emergency or surface discolouration.
| Reason | Examples Love Water gives |
|---|---|
| Construction | Getting a surface ready to paint or reseal; cleaning before a property is sold or leased; rinsing after building work, once the area has first been cleaned with a shovel and broom. |
| Cleaning | Barbecue and outdoor food areas; spilt food or drink; after accidents; animal droppings; areas hit by sewer overflows; school toilet blocks. |
| Safety | Built-up mould or moss; surface discolouration; graffiti; oil stains; built-up rust. |
Under its heading on business exclusions, Love Water says businesses and residents do not need to apply for exemptions.
Water the rules leave out
Love Water lists three kinds of water the rules do not reach.
- Some rainwater. Water from rainwater tanks that are not plumbed into the home for the laundry and toilets.
- Bores and rivers. Bore water and water taken from rivers are outside the rules, though Love Water notes that some government restrictions do apply, and points to the state’s water department to check.
- Emergencies. Town water used when there is an accident, fire or hazard to health, or a risk of one.
Businesses, in brief
Landscapers, mobile garden contractors and people using water to cool animals or people may use sprinklers and watering systems as needed. When businesses hose paved surfaces for the reasons above, they must use high-pressure cleaning equipment or a hose with a trigger nozzle. Vehicle dealers face the same equipment rule for cleaning cars, trucks, caravans, boats, and farm and construction machinery.
Further up the pipe, water restrictions take over when the dams fall, and at the meter, Whose pipe is it? sets out which taps and pipes are the owner’s.
The rules govern how water is used outdoors, not the pipes. Garden taps sit on the owner’s side of the point of connection, and Council’s guide says a water leak or a problem with your plumbing means engaging a licensed plumber, at your own cost.