ANYTHING that can hold or distribute water has become in-demand in Bendigo since water restrictions were tightened this month.
Hume & Iser Home Hardware reports difficulty in
keeping shelves stocked with buckets, basins and grey-water devices.
Pam Miller, who is a fourth generation member of the Iser family, said residents have been quite inventive when it comes to saving water.
“Everyone is coming up with new, innovative ideas,” Pam said.
“They’re buying greywater diverter hoses, rubbish bins and poly tubes and we can’t keep up with the demand for buckets.
“There is a fellow who arrives with a van of recycled basins and buckets, he opens his door and we say, ’we’ll take the lot’.
“The day they said no water outside everyone went into panic mode.
“We decided to stock some water tanks as a trial and they were gone in no time.
“Now there is a four-week wait for a tank.”
Pam said although people are taking a pro-active approach to keeping their plants alive, many of her regular customers are feeling the strain.
“I also see the sadder part of water restrictions – elderly people who I’ve known for years whose gardens are very special to them.
“They say to me , ‘what am I going to do?  This (garden) is my life’.
“They can’t carry buckets because they’re too heavy and they can’t afford to install a tank or pump.
“When you take a garden away from people in wheelchairs or people with a disability then it’s really sad.
“I just hope something is done to resolve this quickly.
“Water is such a precious commodity and we just don’t realise that until we don’t have it.”
Pam said so far the garden centre was “holding its own” with shoppers choosing drought-tolerant natives over other plant species.
“People are still buying plants,” she said. “And a lot of people don’t live in Bendigo, they may have a bore or a dam to keep things going.”