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Sydney residents will face exorbitant fines for water wastage under new restrictions aimed at curbing excessive gardening and driveway cleaning, as the state’s drought worsens.

Watering gardens in the middle of the day or letting taps leak will be now be punishable by law in the Harbour City.

From Saturday, new rules will mean that Sydney residents will be banned from using sprinklers and hoses on their lawns and gardens between 10am and 4pm.

They will also no longer be able to water down paved surfaces such as paths or driveways, even if they are worried their might be a few leaves on it.

It’s the latter that has broken hearts right throughout South Sydney, with Yaiyais and Papous from Redfern to St George now worried their beautiful driveways will crack in the sun.

“This is a travesty” said one elderly Greek from Earlwood, Con Fakinakakis.

“Now I gotta drive out to bluddy Bathurst and speak to those tank stand people”

“I better get a bluddy D.A”

However, as Papous around Brisbane learnt late last decade, the corrugated steel watertank actually pairs quite well the plain grey concretes and red-orange-brick McMansion.

Nic Constanshitaka (78) from West End says having your own rainwater supply actually isn’t too bad, once your son gets used to having to park his charger on the street.

“I nearly got it in white so it would match the fibreglass columns” he said.

“But that corrugated iron is much lighter and keeps the water cooler. Now I know why these skippy’s put on their roof.”