Water Restrictions
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Water Restrictions website provides access to current water restrictions information for the whole of Australia. Water restrictions information can be searched by State or Territory, water agency and restriction name. Water restriction names and rules vary throughout Australia due to local requirements.
Lower Hunter
Hunter Water is a State-owned Corporation providing water and wastewater services to over half a million people in the lower Hunter region. There are 227,695 properties connected to the water network.
Our area of operation covers 5,366km2 with a population of 560,603 in the local government areas of Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Dungog and small parts of Singleton.
Current Restriction
Smart Water Choices
•Watering of playing fields, lawns, gardens or other vegetation using sprinklers, irrigation systems or hoses is only permitted before 10am and after 4pm
•Hoses must not be left running unattended at any time
•Hoses must have an instant on-off mechanism such as a trigger nozzle installed
•No hosing of hard surfaces (driveways, paths, patios) except for spot cleaning for health, safety or emergency reasons
•Known leaks or other defects that lead to water being lost or misused must be repaired
•Pools may be topped up using hose fitted with a trigger nozzle to replace water lost through normal use conditions including evaporation
•Non-residential customers supplied with more than 10 million litres of drinking water per year should continue to implement any agreed actions within an approved Water Efficiency Management Plan (WEMP)
Automatic Exemptions
Water use for firefighting related activities is not restricted
Vehicles, boats and buildings can be washed at any time with a hose with a trigger nozzle or high pressure water cleaning equipment or a bucket and sponge
Boat engines can be flushed at any time using a hose fitted with an appropriate flushing device
Bore water, water from a recycled water system and water from a tank or dam (if it is not topped up from the drinking water supply) is not restricted
Watering to establish new lawns or gardens can be carried out at any time for up to 14 days after installation using sprinklers or other water systems
Drinking water can be used for dust suppression but only where there is no alternative water source reasonably available
The use of water for cooling people or animals is not restricted
Commercial nurseries, market gardeners, commercial growers, landscapers, mobile garden contractors and persons responsible for the maintenance of community gardens, bowling greens, cricket wickets, golf tees and greens, croquet, hockey, tennis and racing surfaces can water using a hand held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, sprinklers or other watering systems at any time