Spring Rain Returns to Form in Outer West
SPRING RAIN RETURNS TO FORM IN OUTER WEST
Melbourne’s outer western suburbs enjoyed a traditional wet spring, receiving up to 306 mm over the past three months.
Data from Melbourne Water’s 130 monitoring stations across the metropolitan area and beyond shows that all outer western suburbs received at least 100% more rain in spring than during the same period in 2008.
Toolern Vale (306 mm) received the most rain in the outer west, followed by Diggers Rest (233 mm) and Rockbank and Gisborne (221 mm).
Across greater Melbourne, the highest rainfall was recorded in Mount Dandenong (456 mm), while the driest suburb was Hoppers Crossing (144 mm). The average total across all data stations was 213 mm, compared with just 160 mm in winter.
Manager of Water Supply, John Woodland, said spring marked a return to the wet weather traditionally seen across Melbourne at this time of year, but the November hot spell highlighted an increasingly uncertain climate.
“Last year’s winter rainfall was much higher than in spring, but we’ve seen the reverse this year,” said Mr Woodland.
“It was a similar scenario in our water supply catchments, which received above average spring rain for the first time in 12 years.
“As a result, storages posted a significant increase of 173 billion litres, the equivalent of more than five months’ supply for Melbourne.
“However, three months of rain does not make up for 13 years of drought, and water storages are now entering summer at the second-lowest levels on record for this time of year.”
The catchments received a total of 354 mm of rain - more than double the seasonal average. Storage levels jumped from 28.4% full on 1 September to start summer at 38.0%.
Mr Woodland said Melburnians had helped bank the water savings ahead of summer by using less water.
“Water consumption across all uses was 33 million litres per day less than spring last year,” he said.
“Without Melbourne households, business and industry continuing to use less water, our storages would be lower as we head into summer.
Stage 3a restrictions and Target 155 are currently in place. For water savings tips, visit target155.vic.gov.au [website no longer available, visit Office of Water for this information] or contact your local water retailer.
Rainfall figures: outer western suburbs
| Suburb | Rainfall (mm) |
|---|---|
| Hoppers Crossing | 144 |
| Rockbank | 221 |
| Diggers Rest | 233 |
| Bulla | 200 |
| Sunbury | 219 |
| Romsey | 209 |
| Gisborne | 221 |
| Toolern Vale | 306 |
| Little River | 173 |
| Lancefield | 204 |
Media Contact: Nicolas McGay, Melbourne Water - (03) 9235 2278; 0438 981 836