The policy was introduced in December 2004 and restricted the availability of water for new developments until a solution was found to our water shortage.

At the time, council resolved to restrict connections until the capacity of the system was increased in order to sustain over 3000 connections.

To that end, it limited the creation of new water connections to 20 per year until 2010, with the proviso that development applications that create only one additional connection per year could be approved until 2010.

Since then, while Council has been investigating options to increase the water supply, no additional water has actually been stored and Yass has been on near permanent water restrictions.

However, the December 2004 policy was overturned by councillors following a meeting of the Water Management Committee on Wednesday. The decision is predicated on the belief that the Yass Dam Wall will be raised by December 2011.

Councillor Alan McGrath was alone in opposing the motion to rescind the current water policy.

Mr McGrath told councillors their first responsibility should be to the people who live in Yass at present.

“I am cautious and I believe we have acted incautiously. I am concerned and my concern is whether or not we can achieve the construction of the dam wall by the proposed date.

“I am concerned about the future,” Councillor McGrath said.

A number of Yass residents took the initiative to address councillors during open forum. Jane Baker and Duncan McGregor urged councillors to rethink the recommendation of the Water Management Committee.

Mrs Baker warned councillors that scrapping the current policy to make way for future development would only create a water crisis on a much larger scale.

"Lifting totally the present connection cap suggests large scale residential development is envisaged.

"You don't create a whole new demand for water in order to pay for a water shortage that pre-dates it.

"The development of new residential areas must take into account the need for water wisdom and must be restricted accordingly."

Mrs Baker, like Cr McGrath, expressed "grave" concerns that the proposed raising of the dam wall would be completed by 2011. She also quoted a meteorologist in saying the current drought is not expected to end until 2013.

"Climate change is real and permanent. Dare we take the risk the drought will end in 2013?"

Mrs Baker was joined in her urgings by young resident Duncan McGregor who said scrapping the current policy of 20 connections was "irresponsible and potentially dangerous to the social life, economy and environment of Yass and many more locales downstream in the Murray system."

Mr McGregor provided a number of calculations to council and concluded the figures suggest that it would be quite possible Yass could experience a dry period in the next few years.

“A dry period such that the current dam will not hold enough water for current users, let alone any additional users allowed due to modification of Council’s current supply policy.”

Stan Waldren also addressed councillors in open forum imploring them to “get on with it.”

He said Yass was a tough place to do business and not overturning the current policy to make way for new developments would be an opportunity missed.

Councillor Brian O’Connor reiterated Mr Waldron’s comments when contacted by the Tribune the following morning. “We can’t stand still forever. If it [the dam] is finished on schedule, by December 2011, I can’t see any problems. As Paul De Szell said ‘the number of houses being built is hardly breaking world records’.

“We just can’t say we’re going to lock it up forever…”

During deliberations on lifting the restrictions, the committee considered the following points:

• Despite continued growth in Yass of an average of 50 new connections per year, annual water consumption has dropped.

• Average yearly consumption from 1990-2000 was l000ML.

• Average yearly consumption from 2000-2007 was 800ML.

• Council has implemented best practice pricing.

• Average household water consumption has reduced from 350KL to 250KL per year.

• The lead time from approval of a major development application involving subdivision to occupation of newly constructed houses is three to four years.

• The target completion time for the raising of the Yass Dam Wall is three to five years.

The committee acknowledged that lifting the restrictions on development would expose Council to some risk of demand exceeding supply if there are unexpected delays to the dam raising project.