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He says that, providing users continue to be responsible, water from new sources will be pouring into Deep Creek Dam before it runs dry.

At present the dam is at about 45 per cent capacity, being used up at the rate of about two per cent a week. When it drops to 40 per cent, level four restrictions will be introduced bringing a ban on the use of hoses on residential properties on top of current restrictions.

Mr Anderson said that if substantial rain doesn’t fall before then, the dam will run dry in about 24 weeks.

However, council hasn’t been sitting back and letting that happen.

Mr Anderson said work was going on with bores at Tuross that would enable five to seven million litres a day to be filtered and put into the shire’s system. At present, 15 million litres a day are being consumed.

Mr Anderson said it was hoped to start pumping into the dam “in a couple of months”. He added that the possibility of selling the minerals filtered out was being investigated. They included manganese as well as iron.

The Tuross project was costing about $600,000 he said, adding that council was seeking financial help from the State Government.

Mr Anderson said council was also looking into the possibilities of using more treated effluent. It was negotiating with the State Government for approval to do that.

“At present we are disposing of 100 per cent of the effluent from the Moruya plant for use on the golf course and school grounds,” he said.

“About 20 per cent of the treated effluent from Batemans Bay is being used on the Catalina golf course and on Hanging Rock, and about 10 per cent of the effluent from the Bingie plant is being used on Tuross golf course. So there is a lot of spare availability.”

He said the planned upgrading of the Tomakin scheme would make more treated effluent available, with the possibility of supplying North Moruya Industrial Park. Use of treated effluent for all but residential purposes could result in the call upon Deep Creek Dam being reduced by about 25 per cent.