Water levels high for summer

IN time for a warm summer ahead, the Central Highlands Water’s Annual Water Outlook report has been released.

The extensive report examines the organisation’s water storage, ground water levels and expected inflows, weather conditions and consumption forecasts to monitor water supplies for the coming year.

Central Highland’s Water managing director Paul O’Donohue said that due to good rainfall over the past few months, reservoirs are near capacity, ground water levels are normal so water resources are in a good position.

“Lal Lal Reservoir even reached capacity in October and spilled for the first time since 2016 and CHW’s summer projections show that water restrictions are highly unlikely,” he said.

“We again expect to meet community water supply demand from our local storages this year.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, there’s a 60 per cent chance of temperatures soaring above average this summer meaning community may use more water and draw from the region’s reserves.

To assist this possible additional usage, Mr O’Donohue suggests residents adhere to the permanent water saving rules which include fitting handheld hoses with trigger nozzles and to be leak free, cleaning vehicles with a bucket or a handheld hose and using residential watering systems at night.

“We thank everyone in our community for playing their part in using water wisely,” he said.

“As we come into the summer period, it’s a great time to refer back to our permanent water saving rules and ensure we keep this up.”