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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 03 Hansard (Thursday, 11 March 2004) . . Page.. 1213 ..

(1) ACTEW advises that there were 2436 exemptions active during Stage 3 at 30 January 2004 (Q.O.N. 1230) as this was the number of residences and businesses that had applied for exemptions and met ACTEW’s guidelines that are set in place for Stage 3 restrictions. Additionally during Stage 3 restrictions, two general exemptions were given to all Canberrans for motor vehicle washing and for the use of sprinklers on Sunday evenings. While 2436 exemptions were active at 30 January 2004, not all were still active by the end of Stage 3, 29 February 2004. Some exemptions had approval dates that expired before this time.

Exemptions are given either for a specific time period or for the entirety of a stage. Exemptions granted for the entire Stage include those for Canberra businesses facing financial hardship due to water restrictions. The types of businesses seeking exemptions include:

• commercial car washing;

• garden maintenance and landscaping;

• pool maintenance and installation;

• roof restoration;

• construction, cleaning and building maintenance; and

• irrigation installation or maintenance.

Individual residential properties may also be granted limited exemptions under any of the above. While it is the individual residence that receives the exemption these are provided to assist Canberra businesses during restrictions.

Reasons for granting exemptions for residences for the entire stage include:

• health;

• disability; and

• compassionate grounds.

(2) ACTEW advises that there were 1583 exemptions for residential properties.

(3) ACTEW advises that residential exemptions are given for a number of reasons including:

• to use automatic sprinklers for health, disability or compassionate reasons;

• to fill or top up swimming pools;

• to clean paved areas for health and safety or maintenance reasons;

• to clean down a building prior to painting or maintenance;

• to run ponds or fountains to maintain fish and bird life;

• to water new turf (except during the summer months);

• to use sprinklers after lawn treatments; and

• to water outside of specific hours or days specified in the water restrictions scheme.

(4) ACTEW advises the amount of water used due to exemptions is not a figure that can be easily estimated. There are many factors that would influence the amount of water used including the size of the property, the type of irrigation system, the duration of use of water under the exemption.

Exemptions can allow controlled water usage, reduce water usage or create a neutral impact on water usage. However it should be noted that exemptions are given under specific written guidelines and provided under strict conditions. Often conditions specify

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