21 August 2008
STORAGES UP BY 21.9 BILLION LITRES
More winter rain has helped lift Melbourne’s storages by almost 22 billion litres this week, representing an increase of 1.23% of total system capacity.
Storages are now 32.7% (579,244 million litres) full, compared with this time last year when they were 38.3% (678,401 million litres) full.
The week’s rain, helped by falls in the previous two weeks that wet the catchments, resulted in runoff that was slightly above average – representing a significant turnaround of conditions from the start of winter. About 30mm fell across the major catchments since last Thursday, compared with the long-term average of 24mm.
Wet weather and continued savings kept water consumption down to an average of 951 million litres a day, compared with the winter average of 1,108 million litres per day in the 1990s.
Stage 3a restrictions are in place until at least 30 November 2008. Further details on water restrictions are available by visiting the Our Water Our Future website or by contacting the government water retailers.
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Media Contact: Andrew McGinnes +613 9235 7277 +61 (0)403 930 846