Sydney Water’s water rules for the garden

Sydney Water calls these its Water Wise Guidelines, and describes them as mandatory: everyone in Greater Sydney must follow them every day, all year round. Their purpose is to look after the drinking water supply and to get ready for higher restrictions when they are needed, particularly in a drought. They cover drinking water only; recycled water and tank water sit outside them.

• Hose with a trigger nozzle, sprinkler or watering system
• Drip and smart watering systems only

The everyday rules

Sydney Water’s rules for every home, in our words

Topic	The rule
Watering times	Drinking water may go on gardens and lawns before 10am and after 4pm.
Watering methods	Three are allowed: a hand-held hose that shuts off instantly, such as one with a trigger nozzle; sprinklers; and watering systems.
Middle of the day	Between 10am and 4pm, only smart watering or drip irrigation systems may be used.
Run-off	No water may run off, or spray over, onto paths and other hard surfaces.
Hoses and taps	Never left running with nobody watching.
Paths and driveways	Not to be washed down with water unless safety, health, an emergency, construction work or contamination of the surface makes it necessary, and then with a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle unless it supplies high-pressure cleaning equipment.
Fire hoses	Only ever for fighting fires.
Leaks	If Sydney Water issues a notice to fix a leak, it must be fixed by the deadline in the notice.

New turf and new gardens

For 28 days after turf is laid or a garden is planted, drinking water may be used at any time of day. The watering still has to follow the care instructions from the supplier, the installer or the care professional, and still may not run off or spray onto paths and other hard surfaces.

Landscapers and garden contractors

Some non-residential customers may water at any time, using sprinklers, other watering systems, or a hand-held hose with a trigger nozzle. Sydney Water’s list covers landscapers and mobile garden contractors, along with commercial retail nurseries, commercial plant growers and market gardeners, and the people who look after community lawns and gardens or sports and racing surfaces. It also covers commercial water slides, fixed or mobile, and commercial or council recreation facilities where water is part of how they run, such as water play parks.

Other sources of water

The guidelines exist to conserve drinking water, and residents and businesses may use other water they have access to. According to Sydney Water, the guidelines do not apply to:

• recycled water, which some areas receive through purple pipes
• rainwater, provided the tank or dam holds no drinking water
• greywater, such as the water left after washing machines, sinks and showers
• bore water, though some government restrictions apply to it
• river water, which needs a licence.

For construction, Sydney Water allows bore water, recycled water or rainwater at any time, but only when the storage tank has not been topped up from the drinking water system. A rainwater tank also appears in Sydney Water’s backflow requirements, set out in backflow and garden irrigation.

Pools, health and hygiene

Drinking water may be used to top up a pool or spa for water lost in normal use, such as evaporation, or lost to firefighting, and to fill a new or renovated pool or spa, with no run-off or overspray onto hard surfaces. Among the other uses Sydney Water allows at any time is cooling people or animals. Sydney Water invites anyone who sees water being deliberately misused to report it anonymously, and says it will investigate.

A new pool brings its own barrier rules, in pool barriers in NSW. The licence guide covers who may build the garden the water is for, and the backyard plan shows all five guides.