There was an ad in the (Brisbane) city south news on April 16 from the QLD water commission. It contained a number of misleading statements.

For example, it claimed that to use a sprinkler system, you need a 30 minute timer and a rain gauge/sensor or soil moisture sensor. Neither of these are necessary. You only need a 30 minute timer if you have an automatic watering system set up (duh). You can still manually plug in a sprinkler system and run it for half an houtr, provided it meets the other criteria. The rain gauge or sensor is also only necessary if you have an automatice system. I'm sure Bunnings is making a fortune from this misleading government advertising. These two claims make up the bulk of the rules in the ad.

There was only one other restriction mentioned - a maximum of nine litres per minute, however the advertisement gave the impression that this applied to the whole system. In practice, it only applies to each individual emitter.

The final message points that that it has been three years since you last used your watering equipment (wrong again for those with tanks) and that most of it will not comply - again, a misleading statement that seems designed to send people to Bunnings for expensive equipment they do not need.

It then gives a number you can call for a free copy of the guidelines. If you call that number, you will be told that in fact they can not give you a free copy of the guidelines. If you ask the right questions they can give you straight answers.

The ad also mentions a website you can refer to, however, it contains the same misleading claims, especially the ones about the expensive equipement that you don't actually need.

http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/efficient+irrigation

http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/myfiles/uploads/medium%20level%20restrictions/FactShee...

This article includes the fact that people are still allowed to use hand held hoses, which is left out of all the other articles on the new restrictions:

http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=327

Basically, all the written information I can get says that you need to buy this expensive equipment. The only way to find out that you don;t actually need it is to call the number and speak to an operator. This takes a long time, as the operator does not seem to know what the rules are and has to keep putting you on hold to ask someone else. They were not even aware that both the newspaper ads and the website claims that you should be able to get a free copy sent to you by calling the number.

The page referred to in the newspaper ad (the first link) also contains a link to a guideline on greywater use, which is a lengthy document that will leave you totally confused. It does not outline any of the simple, cheap ways you can use greywater in your garden and the simple steps to take to avoid causing problems with it.

EDIT:

I managed to track down this page, which contains a more useful outline of the restrictions:

http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/myfiles/uploads/medium%20level%20restrictions/FactShee...

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They are still a pain in the arse. Admittedly we've had a month or so of wet weather, but we are still living under a communist regime when it comes to water use. Image if they started dictating to us which days of the week we could use petrol or electricity?

Quote:


That is a good point. I think that in SEQ domestic gardens were a major user of our water supply, which is why we were able to make such massive reductions so quickly. But yes, we still have an absurd situation where we are given two inconvenient half hour periods during the week to water gardens, while factories etc use huge quantites for so cheap it might as well be free. If you have a valid use for water, like growing your own food, you cannot even pay to be able to use the water, it must go to some 'commercial operator' for a fraction of the price. Not that I want even more complicated laws telling me which plants I can and cannot water. I want a rational pricing mechanism, not stupid rules.