Level two water restrictions will be introduced in Dubbo from June 1 and harsher cuts could be on the way.
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Dubbo Regional mayor Ben Shields pushed for the restrictions to be introduced in the Dubbo local government area after calls from the community.
The restrictions only permit the watering of lawns on every second day between 7 and 10am and 4 and 7pm. Houses with an even number water on even days of the week, while odd numbers are on odd days of the week.
Cr Shields said level two was chosen as it was better to start off with low water restrictions.
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"If you do a shock and awe system people tend to not be able to adapt very well, so at the first step we'll start at level two and then we'll monitor it over the coming months after that and if inflows to Burrendong don't pick up, we're going to certainly have to go to a higher level," he said.
Rather than just council, councillor Dayne Gumley wants all levels of government to take action on water.
"Ultimately, I think the state government should have taken a leadership position on water allocations before the townships were told to restrict their usage, but the community made it very clear they supported water restrictions and we should start doing something about it," he said.
As it currently stands, council only introduces water restrictions when NSW Water cuts the allocation.
The cut backs in water usage will mean less money for Dubbo Regional Council and Cr Shields said it was something the organisation would have to be mindful of in the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, to provide a better outline of the drought procedures, councillor Dayne Gumley called on council to create a Water Security Master Plan.
"The council will go away and come out with a big picture plan of how we can get through drought without gasping for air anytime the dam gets down to 10 per cent so we don't have to have these constant conversations about water restrictions as the first and foremost thing that we do when it gets a bit dry," he said.
The target water consumption per person per day during level two restrictions is 301 litres. Further details are on council's website.