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Water storages stable across region

By Nick Ridley

A Wimmera-Mallee water expert is predicting storage levels to remain stable following a wet winter last year.

GWMWater storage manager Kym Wilson said following expected late-summer La Niña conditions, urban and rural networks would meet supply demands for 2022.

Mr Wilson said Wimmera reservoirs had experienced a mixed response to summer rain across Victoria.



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He said the water-saving aspect of Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline meant there would be enough water in storage for about two years or more.  

“Even though we have been having low inflows, we are holding enough in storage to have good security for two or more years,” he said. 

Mr Wilson said determining water security was difficult and required assessing many variables. 

“Water security depends on supply and demand,” he said.

“You have how much water flows into your storages each year, but you also have variables such as climate.

“If it’s a hot or dry summer, you will lose more water in evaporation from your reservoirs compared with a wetter summer period.”

Mr Wilson said figures showed 55 millimetres of rain had fallen at Lake Bellfield near Halls Gap between January 6 and 8. 

But other reservoirs missed out on significant totals.

“The next highest rainfall total between January 6 and 8 was at Rocklands Reservoir, with 15.4mm, ” Mr Wilson  said.

He said the rain during the past two weeks was the result of thunderstorm activity. 

“Thunderstorms can be hard to predict. Obviously where they pass over you get good rainfall,” he said. 

“But if you are outside that area you are going to get little rain.” 

Mr Wilson said as of January 12, Grampian’s reservoirs were holding 38.47 percent of available capacity, down half a percent from the previous week. Lake Bellfield is 74 percent full and holding 57,970 megalitres of water.

Primary Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline distribution lake Taylors Lake near Horsham was 81 percent full and holding 27,060 megalitres. 

Horsham’s water-supply Lake Wartook was 68 percent full and holding 19,820 megalitres, while Lake Fyans, near Stawell, was 67 percent full and holding 18,460 megalitres.

As a result of dry conditions and high evaporation losses, authorities failed to record reservoir inflow during December. 

The entire January 19, 2022 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!