Downpour brings little relief

SPRING rainfall figures released by Melbourne Water show that the drought is continuing.
Despite a late-November downpour that brought some relief for gardens and recharged water tanks for the start of summer, rainfall was generally well down across the south-east during spring.
Melbourne Water’s supply operations manager, John Woodland, said heavy rain saturated most of the catchments late last month.
Traditionally, September and October were Melbourne’s wettest months, he said, but this year they proved extremely dry, with Dandenong South recording just 77 millimetres and Springvale West 120, compared with Cardinia Reservoir’s 196 millimetres.
“The late-November downpour was good news for struggling gardens and rainwater tanks, but rainfall over the major water supply catchments was about 15 per cent below what we expect during spring,” Mr Woodland said.
“Unfortunately, September and October were both extremely dry, so when rain finally did arrive in November the catchments didn’t produce enough run-off to make a meaningful difference to reservoir levels.”
Mr Woodland said Melburnians had a good track record of saving water, and that with the hottest months to come, it was important to keep up the effort.
“Targeting 155 litres (a day) will help maintain a healthy buffer in storage until other water sources come online, especially the Sugarloaf Pipeline and desalination plant,” he said.
Stage 3a restrictions and a target of 155 litres a person a day are in place at present. For water-savings tips and more information, visit target155. vic.gov.au