Wet winter fills catchments

THE region’s water supplies are well positioned for spring, according to Coliban Water.

Executive general manager climate and population at Coliban Water Steve Healy said strong rainfall during winter saw storages receive 40 gigalitres of water.

“That’s around double what we would normally expect over this period,” he said. “In July alone, we received 111 millimetres of rainfall at the Malmsbury Reservoir.

“Our total winter rainfall was 240 millimetres, 36 millimetres more than last year and close to the long-term average.

“We are holding around 19 gigalitres more in storage than we were for the same time last year, and the outlook is favourable for the months ahead.”

Coliban Water catchments began spilling in July, the earliest they have reached maximum capacity in a decade.

“Our storages were sitting at 69 per cent capacity at the start of winter. At the end of winter, they are at 100 percent capacity, this is a great sign of the rain and inflows we’ve experienced,” Mr Healy said.

For the 11th year in a row, Coliban Water’s 1362 rural customers, serviced by 504 kilometres of channels and pipelines, will have access to their full water license volume for their property.

Mr Healy said while the news is good, climate change and a growing population means residents should stay vigilant of their water use.

“Permanent water saving rules are in place across our region and everything we do to conserve water, even in the cooler months, helps overall water security,” he said.