Winter Rainfall Above Par Across the Board : News : Melbourne Water

7 September 2010

WINTER RAINFALL ABOVE PAR ACROSS THE BOARD

Winter rainfall was well above the 10-year average across greater Melbourne, with all suburbs receiving at least 100mm.

Figures from Melbourne Water’s 130 data stations across the metro area and beyond show that the highest rainfall was recorded in Mount Macedon (391 mm), while Hoppers Crossing (110mm) was the driest suburb.

The winter result was a stark contrast to the same period last year. The average total rainfall across all data stations was 230mm, compared with 160mm in winter 2009 when 17 suburbs had less than 100mm.

The major catchments that feed water into the city’s dams were again among the wettest areas, receiving an average of 317mm.

Manager of Water Supply, John Woodland, said the good winter rain resulted in strong storage gains, increasing from 32.7% to 41.2% full, because the catchments had become quite wet from good summer and autumn rain.

"The catchments, which act like a sponge, absorbed most of the above-average rain earlier in the year, so the winter rain resulted in more of the water running into the dams," said Mr Woodland.

"Storages banked 150 billion litres in winter, a boost of 8.6% of capacity, compared with a rise of just 2% in the same period last year."

Rainfall figures : inner eastern suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Burwood East	219	178	166
Kew	177	153	147
Ashwood	214	170	166
Burnley	167	136	108
Gardiner	167	164	126
Blackburn	224	171	160

Rainfall figures : inner northern suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Coburg	171	122	117
Fairfield	166	139	125
Fawkner	174	118	97

Rainfall figures : inner western suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Altona	142	109	88
Brooklyn	148	112	90
Footscray	144	118	91
Sunshine	136	99	75
Maribyrnong	164	100	95
Spotswood	154	110	99
Deer Park	129	111	75
Keilor	125	100	75
Essendon	156	100	N/A
St Albans	140	109	80
Flemington	142	108	N/A

Rainfall figures : north-eastern suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Doncaster	194	175	154
Heidelberg	200	151	137
Lower Plenty	189	152	160
Mernda	173	125	116
Kinglake	364	274	216
Greensborough	217	148	131
Ivanhoe	164	131	117

Rainfal figures : outer eastern suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Beenak	363	294	261
Knox	225	188	188
Lilydale	259	209	204
Maroondah Reservoir	311	283	255
Mount Evelyn	291	264	237
Mount Dandenong	326	292	256
Mooroolbark	240	202	199
Montrose	292	232	206
Monbulk	296	295	279
Ringwood	266	295	279
Heathmont	250	180	184

Rainfall figures : outer northern suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Bundoora	174	140	119
Craigieburn	174	126	108
Darraweit Guim	207	124	119
Konagaderra	140	113	90
Epping	185	136	112
Fawkner	174	118	97
Jacana	126	85	84
Somerton	189	137	105
Greenvale	154	123	140

Rainfall figures : outer western suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winter 2009 (mm)
Hoppers Crossing	110	100	62
Rockbank	121	100	85
Diggers Rest	122	102	80
Bulla	118	91	78
Sunbury	146	118	98
Romsey	233	168	133
Mt Macedon	391	276	301
Melton South	120	N/A	74

Rainfall figures : south-eastern suburbs
Suburb	Winter 2010 (mm)	Long-term average (mm)	Winrter 2009 (mm)
Berwick	306	230	230
Caulfield North	182	138	141
Clayton	206	175	181
Cranbourne	315	205	207
Frankston North	220	173	181
Hampton Park	224	161	173
Lyndhurst	211	163	150
Mentone	169	148	141
Oakleigh South	192	155	150
Officer	379	N/A	176
Rowville	229	169	182
Sandringham	198	148	136
Springvale West	191	178	168

Media Contact: Nicolas McGay, Melbourne Water - (03) 9235 2278; 0438 981 836