Also check out the information about the Warm Season Grass 28 day Exemption below. From the 1st September 2010, households and businesses have been able to apply for a one-off, 28 day exemption from water restrictions to enable new warm season lawns to be established.

Warm season grass uses a lot less water than other grass. Couch, Buffalo and Kikuyu thrive throughout spring and summer on little rainfall – making them well suited to Melbourne’s changing climate. For the average Melbourne backyard, water use is likely to be reduced by 70 per cent.

Residential and Commercial Gardens and Lawns 

Hand Watering;                                                                         

You can water residential or commercial gardens and lawns at any time, on any day using a hand held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle.

Watering Systems;
You can water gardens and lawns using a watering system (manual, automatic, spray or dripper) only on alternate days between 6 am – 10 am and 6 pm – 10 pm.

Alternate Days mean: people may use their watering systems on an odds and evens, date-based approach:  

Even and No-Numbered Properties may water on even dates e.g. 2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.

Odd Numbered Properties may water on odd dates e.g. 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.All properties may water between 6 - 8 am on the 31st.

Public Gardens, Lawns and Playing Surfaces;

Hand Watering;   You can water public gardens, lawns and playing surfaces at any time, on any day using a hand held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle.

Watering Systems; Public gardens, lawns and playing surfaces can also use a watering system only on alternate days between 6 am -10 am and 6 pm - 10 pm or water in accordance with an approved Water.

Use Plan.

Fountains and Water Features;
You can fill and operate your fountain or water feature as long as it recirculates the water.

Hosing Down of Hard Surfaces;
You cannot hose down hard surfaces including driveways, paths, concrete, tiles, timber decking and other paved areas except where cleaning is required as a result of an accident, fire, health hazard, safety hazard or other emergency.

You can use a high pressure cleaning unit, or if such a unit is not available, a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle, or a bucket in the course of construction or renovation.

Vehicle Washing;
You can wash your car, boat or other vehicle at home using a high pressure cleaning unit, a hand held hose fitted with a trigger nozzle or a bucket or watering can, at any time, any day of the week.

Tips:

#  What are the problems with car washing in your driveway?  There's no problem with washing your car. It's just how and where you do it. The average driveway car wash uses between 450 and 550 Litres of water! Most commercial car washes use 60 percent less water in the entire washing process than a simple home wash uses just to rinse off a car. Most soap contains chemicals that harm fish and water quality. When washing your car in the driveway, the soap together with the dirt and oil washed from your car, flows into nearby storm drains which run directly into lakes, rivers, or marine waters. The phosphates from the soap can cause excess algae to grow. Algae look bad, smell bad, and harm water quality. As algae decays, it uses up oxygen in the water that fish and other wildlife need.

# How can you wash your car and help keep our waters clean? Use soap sparingly. Use a hose nozzle with a trigger.
Pour your bucket of soapy water down the sink or on the garden when you're done, not in the street ------ 

#  OR -----  wash your care on a grassy area so the ground can filter the water naturally.

#  Best of all, take your car to a commercial car wash, especially if you plan to clean the engine or the bottom of your car. Most car washes reuse wash water several times before sending it to the sewer system for treatment.

Sporting Grounds;
Councils and schools can water sportsgrounds and gardens in accordance with the times under Stage 1 restrictions or submit a Water Use Plan to efficiently water outside of the prescribed hours.Pools, spas and water toys.

Filling New Pools & Spa's
A new pool or spa of up to 2,000 litres can be filled by means of a hand-held hose, bucket or watering can or an automatic water top up device. However, a new or existing pool or spa of greater than 2,000 litres can only be filled in accordance with a Water Use Plan.  Contact your local water utility for more information.

Topping Up;
An existing pool or spa of any size can be topped up using an automatic top up device or a hand held hose, bucket or watering can.

A mobile spa can only be filled or topped up in accordance with a Water Use Plan.

Water Toys;
A water toy connected to a hose cannot be used at any time.

Exemptions;
Melbourne’s three water retailers have the ability to grant exemptions to water restrictions in special circumstances.  For information regarding the circumstances under which an exemption may be granted, please refer to the Drought Response Plan which is available from your government water utility.

An application for an exemption can be made by contacting your local water retailer.

New Warm Season Grass Lawns
You may obtain an exemption to use watering systems to water new warm season grass lawns as required to suit weather conditions for up to the first 28 days after installation.  Visit www.warmseasongrass.com.au for more information and to apply.

Info about Warm Season Grass 28 day Exemption

From 1 September 2010 households and businesses have been able to apply for a one-off, 28 day exemption from water restrictions to enable new warm season lawns to be established.

Warm season grass uses a lot less water than other grass. Couch, Buffalo and Kikuyu thrive throughout spring and summer on little rainfall – making them well suited to Melbourne’s changing climate. For the average Melbourne backyard, water use is likely to be reduced by 70 per cent.

The exemption will apply for installing pre-grown turf and for sowing grass seeds, but is limited to one exemption per property per year.

Melbourne households can obtain the grass exemption between September and March by:visiting the warm season grass 28 day exemption website and visit their local water authority’s website calling their local water authority directly.

The simple online application process provides all conditions for the exemption, installation tips and an exemption certificate to display outside properties.

After the 28 day exemption, households will have to adhere to water restrictions which prohibit lawn watering; however there are no restrictions on captured rainwater or greywater.

The comparison chart below sets out the key characteristics for the three leading species of warm season grass suited to Melbourne.

Characteristics of Warm Season Grass in Melbourne;

*Please Note that Buffalo grass cannot be grown from seed – it is only available as pre-grown lawn or ‘runners’.

Know Your Grass;

Couch; Ideal for an active family or dog traffic, Couch is one of the most popular grasses in Australia today and is very quick to recover from any wear or damage. It is extremely drought tolerant and requires minimal maintenance but has low tolerance to shade (which may result in patchy growth) if planted incorrectly.Kikuyu

Kikuyu; The toughest and most durable, Kikuyu thrives on sun and heat, and is very drought tolerant – while tolerating small amounts of shade. Well suited to areas subject to car and dog traffic it is known for its extremely vigorous growth and it will require regular maintenance. Without regular mowing (and if positioned in a low traffic, or otherwise unsuitable area) it is likely to encroach into garden beds or other areas.Buffalo

Buffalo; This grass thrives on hot temperatures and can survive for long periods without water once established. It is shade tolerant and is able to withstand some wear and tear, but it is a surface runner, so may need an edging barrier and maintenance to keep it out of garden beds. It is low maintenance, requiring minimal fertilising and mowing while still providing a green lawn through summer months.

It is important to note that Buffalo cannot be grown from seed, so if this variety is of interest to you, you might want to investigate the costs of pre-grown grass installation. (Instant Grass)

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