U.S. Water News Online
SYDNEY, Australia -- A new weather-related phenomenon has sprung up in Sydney -- water rage.
As Australia's most populous city battles a two-year drought with harsh water restrictions, neighbors are turning into vigilantes to stamp out illicit irrigation.
``I am alarmed at reports that neighbors have decided to appoint themselves as enforcers of water restrictions,'' New South Wales state Energy and Utilities Minister Frank Sartor said in a statement.
Sartor's comments followed media reports two Sydney neighbors came to blows over a family's manicured and apparently well-watered lawn.
Restrictions introduced last month outlaw the use of sprinklers to water lawns, but do allow residents to hose down the grass. Using a hose to wash cars or clean driveways also is banned.
People caught breaching the regulations can be slapped with a $158 fine.
Sydney Water, the company that supplies the city's water, has reported thousands of residents reporting their neighbors for water restriction violations.
After giving residents a month to voluntarily comply, the first fine was issued recently after officers patrolling the upscale Cremorne neighborhood spotted an automated sprinkler system in use at dawn.
Sartor stressed the water patrols were the only people empowered to mete out punishment.
``Let me spell it out,'' he said. ``There is no room for water vigilantes in our city.''
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