HAPPY: Sebastian resident Sherril Pianto waters her garden after water restrictions were lifted. Picture: JIM ALDERSEY
SEBASTIAN and Raywood residents are relieved stage three water restrictions will be removed this Saturday.
Raywood and Sebastian’s Coliban Water urban customers will move to Permanent Water Saving after the completion of a 22.4 kilometre water supply pipeline from Bendigo.
The towns are currently under stage three water restrictions and have been under some form of water restriction since 2002.
It is the first time since 1999 that no towns within the Coliban Water region are on water restrictions.
Sebastian resident Sherril Pianto said she had held off planting a garden for five years because of water restrictions.
Under stage three water restrictions, residents cannot water their lawns and can only water their gardens at certain times on specified days.
“It is a relief,” she said. “We’ve got nothing around the house at the moment and no shade at all.
“We want to get trees around the house and we’ll start planting trees now (because we’ve) got more water.”
Raywood Motors owner Carl Humphries said the removal of the restrictions would make washing cars at his business a lot easier.
But he said a number of people in the town using tank water would not be too affected by the change.
“A lot of people have rain water tanks around here because of water restrictions and the price of water,” he said. “It’s a farming district so a lot of places have always traditionally had tank water.”
Coliban Water managing director Jeff Rigby said the pipeline had been operating smoothly since its December completion.
“The pipeline connecting the townships of Raywood and Sebastian to the Bendigo water supply network was brought into operation just prior to Christmas, however, we wanted to wait and see that the pipeline was operating smoothly before we lifted water restrictions,” he said. “With the pipeline complete Raywood and Sebastian now have access to a more secure water supply.”