Water patrols to catch wallies

SOUTH East Water has stepped up water patrols to catch unsuspecting water wallies.
The announcement of increased patrols comes as Melbourne enters the summer season on stage two water restrictions.
Up to 50 officers from South East Water will patrol Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs to ensure people are not breaking the stage two restriction rules.
South East Water managing director Dennis Cavagna said the patrols were in response to customer complaints of neighbours breaking water-saving rules.
“We are getting tougher against people who flout the water restrictions. Customers have told us that they want us to target water wasters and that is exactly what we will be doing under the new restrictions,” Mr Cavagna said.
“While most people do the right thing and want to save water, there are now strong provisions in place to ensure everyone complies with water restrictions.
“Customers who do the right thing and follow water restrictions have nothing to worry about as we are only targeting people who refuse to comply.”
The patrols will be looking out for residents, businesses and local councils who are not complying with water restrictions.
This includes watering lawns, washing cars with a hand-held hose, using watering systems at the wrong time of the day, using watering systems on the wrong day, hosing down paved areas and driveways, using an old twist nozzle on their hose rather than a trigger nozzle, or filling a pool without permission from a water authority.