Strong water supply but future uncertain

BARWON Water’s Annual Water Outlook has reported a strong supply for the region in the lead up to summer, but the organisation said forward planning is still necessary to get ahead of an increasingly warmer, drier future.

Barwon Water’s storage levels are their best in more than a decade at this point in the year, recorded at nearly 100 per cent.

The likelihood of any restrictions in Golden Plains and surrounding areas, including Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast, is rated as very rare.

Managing director of Barwon Water, Tracey Slatter, said major storages had spilled over this year.

“West Barwon Reservoir, home to the region’s main catchment located in the Otways, spilled for the first time in seven years, while Lal Lal Reservoir in the Moorabool catchment also started spilling for a second year in a row in August this year,” she said.

Despite the good short-term outlook, Ms Slatter said people should still adhere to permanent water saving rules as “the situation can change quickly”.

“During the Millennium Drought, and even more recently during the 2015-2016 El Niño and the hot dry start to 2019, we saw water storages can draw down rapidly,” she said.

“While it has mostly been a wet 12 months for our region, historically we have seen a 32 per cent drop in average in inflows at West Barwon Reservoir since 1997.”

Public input is now being sought on the organisation’s Water for our Future strategy, which aims to outline ways water supplies can be made secure in an uncertain future.

“While water supplies are secure for now, Barwon Water’s modelling shows that by 2027 we may no longer be able to reliably meet the needs of our Geelong, Golden Plains, Bellarine and Surf Coast system, which supplies over 90 per cent of our customers,” Ms Slatter said.

“This is why, in partnership with the community, careful proactive planning for the future is required now, together with a continued focus on water efficiency and using our existing systems wisely.”

Have your say by 10 January via waterfuture.barwonwater.vic.gov.au.