THE QUEENSLAND Water Commission says Brisbane residents can turn their sprinkler and irrigation systems back on now that water restrictions have been downgraded to medium.
It is the first time in three years that residents have been allowed to connect garden watering systems to town water.
The commission will now allow each resident to use up to 200L of water per day.
Six South-East Queensland council areas including Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan will say goodbye to their existing high-level restrictions after heavy rainfall lifted the region's main storage dams above 50 per cent of their combined capacity.
Water authorities are expected to ease restrictions further when Wivenhoe, North Pine and Somerset dams reach the combined 60 per cent mark.
It seems the water conservation message has been taken seriously by Queenslanders.
Brisbane residents were using more than 300L of water per day before the drought. Households in high-level restricted areas are allowed to use 140L of water per day, but only use 130L per day on average.
Authorities expect this usage to go up now that the use of sprinklers and irrigation systems are no longer banned.
However, residents who dust off their old sprinklers may have a hard time complying with new commission guidelines.
The new regime states a sprinkler must not use more than nine litres of water per minute, must have an adjustable pattern so it is not used on lawns or hard surfaces, and must be connected to a timer.
Residents are allowed to hose their garden or use one complying sprinkler or irrigation system between 4 and 4.30pm on allocated days - Saturday and Tuesday for odd-numbered homes or Sunday and Wednesday for even-numbered homes.
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