The city of Orange is leading the way with smart water use as the state suffers through a crippling drought.

Orange has Australia’s first stormwater harvesting system which has received international praise.

A portion of stormwater run-off is taken from the local creeks, filtered through artificial wetlands and transferred to a dam to be able to be consumed by locals.

The council keeps water restrictions at level two even when the dams return to capacity and have introduced a suggested three minute shower time limit.

Mayor of Orange Reg Kidd tells Ben Fordham it is necessary to preserve water.

“We’re going to have further droughts once we get out of this one, so we’ve put in a lot of really good strategies to make Orange water sustainable into the future.”

He shared one of his water-saving tips with Ben.

“Here’s one that everyone can do, get people to collect water and go out and water their gardens with it.

“Just get a bucket and have a look at how much water is collected before you get in under the shower.

“Have a look at how much top drinking water has actually been wasted before you even get in the shower.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty/Michael Heim/EyeEm