Even With Level 5 Restrictions, Australian Town Has 8 Months Of Water Left

[hatrack]

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"Things are not looking good. Mr O'Rourke, water services manager at the local council, says below average rain is expected over winter. In the past two months they have had only 10 millimetres of rain. In an average month, they would get five times as much. Goulburn's 22,000 people are not allowed to use hoses - residents cannot water gardens or wash cars.

Many sports grounds have been closed. The junior soccer and rugby clubs are on the verge of shutting down for the season, with concerns the injury toll from the hard earth is getting too high. In the prison, 70 inmates must shower within an hour.

Welcome to Stage 5 restrictions, tougher than anywhere in Victoria. Under Stage 5, all use of town water outside is banned and people are asked to use no more than 150 litres of water a day - about the same as a 15-minute shower.

But, Mr O'Rourke says, Goulburn is not unique. Water, as a resource, is running low and people have to come to terms with it or face a similar predicament. "We're just further advanced than a lot of people, that's all," he says."

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http://www.theage.com.au/news/Drought/Almost-running-on-empty/2005/05/19/1116361673744.html?oneclick=true