Stage two water restrictions will no longer be in place in the Kilmore district as of Thursday.
Instead permanent water saving rules will apply for residents in Kilmore, Kilmore East, Wandong, Heathcote Junction and Upper Plenty.
Despite just weeks ago indicating the water restrictions would remain in place over summer, Goulburn Valley Water has changed its plans – partly due to the weekend’s rain.
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 16.8 millimetres of rain in Kilmore over the weekend, which is expected to boost storages this week.
Water levels in the Sunday Creek reservoir, which supplies the region, have risen to 54 per cent, which is higher than the same time last year when the storage was sitting around 47 per cent.
While the bureau predicts a warmer and drier summer, modelling and forecasting has indicated the current storage level has the capacity to continue supplying the region in coming months if residents use water efficiently.
Goulburn Valley Water Service Delivery general manager Daniel Flanagan said residents still needed to be conscious of their water use.
“While restrictions are no longer in place, we need residents to keep up the water saving habits they’ve had in place since restrictions were introduced in April,” he said.
“Storage levels have recovered thanks to winter rainfall and conservation efforts, but we encourage you to be water wise and follow the Permanent Water Saving Rules.”
Key water saving measures under the Permanent Water Saving Rules include: watering lawns or garden with a leak-free hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle at any time, or using a watering system only between 6pm and 10am; using a broom or a blower to clean hard surfaces; using a bucket, or leak-free hose fitted with a trigger nozzle to wash cars.
Water supplies will continue to be boosted by ongoing pumping of water from the Broadford reservoir, which is connected to the Goulburn system.
A supplementary secondary supply can also be activated if water levels fall below a certain trigger point.
GVW staff have also repaired a series of larger water leaks in the network to help secure supply.
