Harden
Indicator: Water Use
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Harden
Harden is fortunate to have an assured water supply coming from the Murrumbidgee River. This supply is part of a large drinking water supply system operated by Goldenfields Water County Council, which is fully treated at the Jugiong drinking water treatment plant. This water is then supplied by pipeline providing water to Cootamundra, Young, Harden and other communities.
The application of Level 4 water restrictions to domestic use in 2007-2008, together with the watering of town sports fields by recycled water, has cut overall water consumption by about 25% since 2006-2007.
Supply- how much water could we have?
Harden and the surrounding communities are supplied through Goldenfields Water County Council. The supply is sourced from the Murrumbidgee River and treated at the Jugiong water treatment plant. The nominal capacity of the plant is 40 ML/day and is currently operated at 54% above capacity. Goldenfields Water regards this as unsustainable. This plant has full treatment facilities. A pipeline links the Jugiong plant to Cootamundra and the other towns supplied through this system via the Cowangs reservoir. The overall system has 14 sets of reservoirs and eight pumping stations, and supplies 40,000 people living between the Lachlan and Murrumbidgee rivers in NSW.
The water intake from the Murrumbidgee is downstream of Burrinjuck dam, which is the major water storage reservoir on the river supplying water to irrigation users downstream. The only limitation on supply volume is the extraction licence and any variations due to overall water availability. The current policy is to provide water to domestic consumers as top priority, so that the security of town supplies from irrigation systems is assured. Limited water storages are operated by town Councils from the pipeline supply, and are held constant at 70-90% of capacity.
How much water is available?
The ongoing drought has had major impacts on irrigation supplies on the Murrumbidgee, but limited impacts on town supplies. As an illustration, only 5% of the General Security licence water for irrigation is currently allocated, due to insufficient water in storage in the Murray-Darling system.
Consumption – how much water was used?
Total Use
| 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total volume of reticulated water used per year (ML) | 691 | 757 | 565 |
Use by sector
Rural customers use approximately 50% of the bulk water purchased.
Environmental flows
The drought has caused many of the creeks in the Council area to become interrupted watercourses.
Managing water use and demand
The control of domestic water use has primarily come from the imposition of water restrictions.
Water Conservation
Water restrictions have been in place in Harden in 2007-2008 at Level 4, but no restrictions had been applied prior to this year. Level 4 restricts water use in gardens to one hour per day, using hand-held hoses. No sprinklers are allowed, or hoses used to wash paved areas. The impact was a reduction of 25% in water use.
Recycling – making the drop go further
During 2006-2007 a total of 16 ML have been recycled for use on sports fields. No data are yet available for 2007-2008.
Future water supply
The supply is primarily controlled by licence, and secondarily by the ability of Goldenfields Water County Council to supply the required volume. The Jugiong drinking water treatment plant is running well over nominal capacity, and this is regarded as unsustainable. If further development in the Harden Shire Council area requires additional water the capability of the present treatment plant to supply this water is open to question.
About the data
Quantitative data received from Harden Shire Council
