1 July 2010
GOOD SIGNS FOR 'FILLING SEASON'
- Best start to year since 1997
- Above average rain, below average runoff
- Average daily consumption down 44 million litres a day
Melbourne's storages have recorded their best first half of a year since the drought began in 1997, thanks to good rainfall and runoff, reduced water use and major projects.
After starting the year at 37.4%, storages fell by just 3.7% - less than half of the average drop of 9.5% since the drought began.
Between 1 January and 30 June, Melbourne's major catchments received 505 mm of rain, which was 16% above the long-term average. This was the highest rainfall for January to June since 2007.
Over the same period, the major reservoirs received 106 billion litres of inflow, 12% below the average.
Manager of Water Supply, John Woodland, said the first half of 2010 was a stark contrast to the previous two years – the two driest starts to a year on record for the dams.
"After being savaged by two extremely dry periods in back-to-back years, storages have rallied to be in a much better position," Mr Woodland.
"The recovery has been underpinned by the addition of water from the Sugarloaf Pipeline and Tarago Reservoir. A bonus in the short term is that rainfall and runoff have been more in tune with long-term averages.
"The rain has helped kick along the storage recovery and put dams in a good position ahead of the winter and spring filling season. The catchments are now wetter and further rain will produce higher runoff rates.
"It's been a while since the catchments have been this wet at this time of the year, so we'd hope to see storages start to rise in earnest over the next few months," he added.
Mr Woodland said Melbourne homes and businesses had played a major part in limiting the storage drop, with average daily consumption across all uses down 44 million litres a day compared with the same period last year.
"Melburnians are continuing to cut back on their water use, which is laudable considering water restrictions were eased to Stage 3 on April 1 this year," he said.
Note: Melburnians are reminded that storage figures will reflect recently-connected sources of water from today, resulting in a boost of around 0.5%. Today's storage figure is 34.3%.
Media Contact: Andrew McGinnes +613 9235 7277 +61 (0)403 930 846