Bright's water usage per person remains the highest of all communities in the Alpine Shire and if consumption doesn't reduce then staged water restrictions remain a real possibility in summer, the local water authority has warned.
According to North East Water (NEW) statistics released for the first two weeks of September, average daily water use per person has been 227.5 litres in Bright/Porepunkah/Wandiligong - far more than 149.5 litres per person in Harrietville, 166 litres in Myrtleford, and 207 litres in Mt Beauty/Tawonga/Tawong South.
NEW general manager of environmental systems and operations, John Day, said the average daily usage across the whole North East region was 202 litres per person, with the Whitfield community in the King Valley the biggest water users with 311.5 litres per person.
He said the difference between Harrietville and Whitfield's consumption was near the equivalent of around six four-minute showers per day.
Mr Day said most of the region’s water storages are now in a much better position compared to earlier this winter, when water restrictions were a real possibility for several towns.
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However, he said NEW was "closely monitoring Bright, where water usage remains high and the storage is low".
"In Bright, water usage has understandably reduced over the past few weeks (due to fewer visitors due to police operation), allowing us to gradually refill the storage at a more sustainable rate.
"The storage is currently sitting at 68 per cent, which is lower than the 84 per cent recorded at this time last year.
"If consumption doesn’t decrease there, we may need to introduce staged water restrictions there as early as December.”
Mr Day said Myrtleford’s water storage is nearly full at 95 per cent.
"We're pleased to see the Myrtleford community has responded positively to our calls over recent months to reduce water usage," he said.
"This puts the town in a strong position heading into the summer period."
Mr Day said NEW encouraged all residents and visitors to continue conserving water and follow the Permanent Water Saving Rules (PWSR) that are in place year-round across Victoria, which include:
• Always use a trigger nozzle on your hose.
• Only use watering systems between 6pm and 10am.
• Never hose down concrete paths or driveways.
Weekly water usage statistics are available at www.newater.com.au/usage, while people can find great tips to reduce water consumption at www.waterwise.tips.
