On the back of strong rainfall and flow in the Manning River, water restrictions across the Mid Coast are coming to an end. This will be in affect from Friday, February 21.
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The Bootawa Dam continues to be filled and the Bureau of Meteorology has long term forecasts of rain, making the decision feasible for MidCoast Council.
Council thanked all residents for their diligence to reduce water usage in accordance with restrictions and urged everyone to continue water saving habits in the future.
"With the lifting of restrictions we will move back to our normal 'Summer Water Savers Program' that encourages mindful use of water at home and largely continues the water saving efforts that everyone has already been implementing," MidCoast Council's Rob Scott said.
"We really couldn't have gotten through the worst drought in more than 140 years without the commitment and perseverance of our community and we're very thankful for their efforts."
Mr Scott said it's important for the community to understand the decision to lift restrictions wasn't taken lightly.
Council can only legislatively impose water restrictions when there is a definite shortage of water or where the capacity of the system is not able to keep up with demand.
"We know that our system is one of the last ones to enter water restrictions. Our water restrictions can be quite harsh, however we also come out of restrictions quite fast once flows return to the Manning River," Mr Scott said.
"Fortunately, our region has been able to recover and regenerate quite quickly but our long term water security doesn't stop here.
"We'll be updating our long term strategies, engaging with the community and working on plans to ensure our water supply infrastructure is able to adapt to our changing climate and meet future demands.
"We have also proven the viability of the alternative water supply available through the bore field at Nabiac and shown that this can be increased over the short term to meet our demands so we don't run out of water."
Council will progress the existing long term proposals to build new dams at Peg Leg Creek and Gloucester as well as increasing the size of the existing storage at Stroud.
Mr Scott advised the community will play a big part in these projects moving forward.
"We will still be aiming to increase the recycling of water and will continue to work on the affordability of supply across the region," he said.
"The bottom line of this experience is that together we have been able to manage our water supply system through the worst drought on record and we should all be proud of that."
For more information about water supply or for water saving ideas and tips, visit council's website https://www.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/Water-Services