OUR WORST WATER WASTERS

Western suburbs and towns top new council figures

TOOWOOMBA might have the tastiest water in Australia, but some residents are using too much of it.

That’s according to new figures from the Toowoomba Regional Council, which revealed the towns and suburbs using the most water in our region.

Areas like Glenvale, Torrington and Cotswold Hills used an average of 278 litres per person per day over the past three months.

The news comes after Toowoomba’s tap water yesterday was named the tastiest in Australia.

RESIDENTS in Toowoomba’s western suburbs are the highest water users in the region.

New figures from the Toowoomba Regional Council have revealed which suburbs and towns have used the most tap water over the past three months.

The hot and dry conditions that plagued the Darling Downs prior to this week caused massive water use increases, with outer suburbs like Glenvale, Torrington and Cotswold Hills (278 litres per person per day) topping the list.

As a general rule, the council recommends households use only 175L per person per day, meaning the majority of the 26 towns and suburbs measured were above the guidelines.

Residents in Blue Mountain Heights (261), Wyreema (254), Millmerran (242) and Vale View (232) were also among the highest users.

Toowoomba’s inner suburbs (collated as Toowoomba City in council records) used an average of 226L per person per day.

Water and waste committee chair Cr Nancy Sommerfield said water usage had understandably increased during September, when almost no rain fell on the Garden City or the Darling Downs.

“There hasn’t been any rain, so people were pulling more from Toowoomba’s tap water supply because their tanks were empty,” she said.

“We did peak up to 226L (in Toowoomba) when it was hot as well as no rain, but it’s now dropped back.

“If you had people using the 220L on a regular occurrence, that would be concerning, (but) that’s not happening.

“I’m predicting it will be down to about 155L per day (in Toowoomba) because of the rain.”

Cr Sommerfield said there was a logical reason why households outside the main centre used more water.

“Glenvale and Cotswold Hills have much larger house blocks (so) they use more water,” she said.

“It’s been across the board that those areas have always used more water.”

While Toowoomba’s dam levels are not a cause for concern, Cr Sommerfield wanted to remind residents that permanent water restrictions remained in place.

“We’ve got a comfortable water supply so we don’t want to discourage water use, (but) we want them to abide by the water restrictions,” she said.

Sprinkler use is allowed before 10am and after 4pm every day except Mondays and devices must comply with the Efficient Irrigation for Water Conservation guidelines.