In April this year, Water Minister John Thwaites reminded Melburnians that Stage 3a restrictions were in force and urged them to continue saving water.
"Melburnians have done a great job saving water, achieving big savings on top of what’s been achieved under water restrictions in place over recent months," Mr Thwaites said.
"In March, Melburnians used 35 per cent less water per head per day than the average use for the month in the 1990s.
"That is, people used about 294 litres per person per day in March this year, compared to 454 in the 1990s.
"Households use more than 60 per cent of the water from Melbourne’s storages so these savings are vital in securing our supplies.
"And without these efforts we would have been on Stage 4 water restrictions – which means no watering - some time ago."
Speaking at the recent Melbourne International Flower and Garden show, Mr Thwaites said introducing tougher Stage 3a restrictions was necessary to protect storage levels.
"We have seen record low inflows into our catchments dating back to winter last year – with spring 40 per cent below the previous lowest ever," Mr Thwaites said.
"Stage 3a allows people to keep some water up to their gardens and will save jobs in the car wash industry.
"With our winter sports seasons starting, the decision also allows a lot of our competitions to go ahead, including juniors, although some teams may need to share grounds."
Mr Thwaites said the Government had also recently announced a new measure to reduce industry water use – a mandatory requirement for the top 1500 industrial water users to develop individual water saving plans.
"The water saving plans will require individual businesses to identify ways they can use water more efficiently through initiatives such as high pressure washing, on-site recycling and re-use of water from production processes," he said.
Mr Thwaites encouraged Melburnians to continue to take up rebates for household water saving measures.
"Since we began the Water Saver Gardens and Homes Rebate Scheme, 153,287 rebates have been claimed for fitting homes and gardens with water efficient products," he said.
"Rainwater tanks and mulch are a great way to save water in the garden."
Mr Thwaites praised the Melbourne International Flower and Garden show organisers on their efforts to reduce water use.
"The Flower and Garden show (used) groundwater and recycled water for all of their gardens, ponds and water features," he said.
"This (was) a great opportunity for over 100,000 visitors to see the latest water saving products, gardening techniques and practical examples of waterwise gardens."
South East Water tankered in 300,000 litres of groundwater and contributed three large tanks as part of its joint sponsorship of the event with City West Water, Yarra Valley Water and the Savewater Alliance.
After the event, the recycled water from gardens, water barriers and tanks has been used by the City of Melbourne to water significant trees or fill ponds.
The key difference under the new restrictions is that people can no longer water in the evenings.
Under Stage 3a water restrictions:
- A manual dripper system, hand-held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, a watering can and a bucket can be used to water gardens as required on specified watering days between 6am - 8am*.
· An automatic dripper system can be used to water as required on specific watering days between midnight - 2am*.
· Cars can be washed at a commercial car wash. A bucket filled from a tap can be used to clean windows, mirrors and lights; and spot-remove corrosive substances.
· One in four sports grounds can be watered. Councils must complete a water conservation plan and ensure water use on these sports grounds is cut back by an additional 25 per cent.
* Even numbered properties can water on Saturday and Tuesday; odd numbered can water on Sunday and Wednesday. People aged 70 and over can water between 8 am and 10 am.