Water restrictions have risen at Taralga after a structure fire damaged the water treatment facility that services the village.
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Level three restrictions will begin from Wednesday, December 9 at 6am.
In a string of incidents, this morning's fire at the facility has destroyed the plant. In October, the village was placed on level one water restrictions after an engineer's report showed structural integrity problems at the dam.
The council has advised that the two events were not connected.
The village can currently access water, however, this supply will be depleted by its continued use.
The Upper Lachlan Shire Council general manager Colleen Worthy said the council was left with no alternative.
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"This is just horrible news. My heart goes out to the people of Taralga... from the bushfire, to the need to lower the dam storage level, and now this," she said.
The council will deliver treated water to the reservoir that supply's the village. The water will be trucked from the Crookwell water treatment plant to top up the supply with around 200 to 240 kilolitres per day, a council document stated.
Taralga residents could also refill 1000 litre water storage tubs at the Crookwell depot treated water standpipe during business hours, between Monday to Thursday.
"The problem is that Taralga's current daily average usage is about 270 kilolitres per day," Mrs Worthy said.
"The council has had to impose level three restrictions to drop that usage a little. It won't be permanent and we are urgently following up on more sustainable solutions, but for now we really need people in Taralga to observe the level three restrictions."
Level three water restrictions
- Do not wash down hard surfaces
- Do not top up swimming pools/spas using Taralga's water supply Do not shower for longer than 3 minutes
- Do not water lawns and residential gardens
- Partial loads of washing discouraged
- Do not use evaporative coolers outside the hours of 7am to midnight - exemption may be granted to special needs
- Restrict use of private water bores
- Do not use temporary Inflatable pools/water slide mats
- Do not wash vehicles in Taralga - other locations within the shire are available
- Do not top up or fill garden features
More to come.