Braidwood has been placed on level three Water Restrictions from Saturday 19th following the continued dry weather and a significant drop in the level of the Shoalhaven River.
New Premier Kristina Keneally toured drought-affected NSW on the weekend as new figures show more than 80 per cent of NSW is now officially in drought, with seven more regions moving into drought.
In total, more than 95 per cent of NSW is either in drought or considered marginally in drought.
Ms Keneally visited rural NSW with Minister for Primary Industries & Rural Affairs Steve Whan and President of the NSW Farmers Association Charles Armstrong.
"These figures paint a very bleak picture for farmers and it's likely to get worse with this summer expected to be the worst in years," Mr Whan said. "Conditions are so bad that I understand some honey producers in central NSW may have to soon resort to sugar feeding to keep bee colonies alive until autumn, while farmers are carting water and supplementary feeding to keep livestock alive" said Mr Whan.
In Braidwood the reservoir has a capacity of 80 ML. Under stage 3 restrictions, the town may use around 10 ML per month, theoretically giving 8 months of supply. Director of Works Gordon Cunningham said "Council would progressively go for tighter restrictions with time and as such the situation would hopefully stretch out longer."
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