Above average autumn rainfall has put Coliban Water’s catchment storages on the Coliban River near Kyneton in a good position for winter inflows.
Executive General Manager Climate and Population Adaptation Steve Healy said the rainfall over autumn has wet up the catchment and we are starting to see some good inflows to our storages.
“Our combined storage volume for our three catchment storages, Upper Coliban, Lauriston and Malmsbury, is 69 per cent – 10 per cent higher than this time last year.
“Our autumn rainfall was 257 millimetres, which is compared with our long-term average of 149 millimetres.
“Last autumn, we had good rainfall in May but this year we’ve had rain over three months. We recorded 35mm at Malmsbury Reservoir on 5 March 2020, our highest daily rainfall for three years.
“With the wet catchment we can expect to see some good inflows over the winter-spring period when we traditionally receive most of our annual inflow before our peak summer demand period.
“Our catchment storages were last full in October 2017 and we have been carefully monitoring and managing our resources,” said Mr Healy.
Coliban Water has nine separate water supply systems across its region, each with different supply source and level of water security – all reliant on rainfall over winter and spring.
“We’re focused on the challenges of water security and climate adaptation outlined in our Strategy 2030, our 10-year plan to achieve our vision of Water to Live, Grow and Enjoy,” said Mr Healy.
“Strategy 2030 guides us to ensure there is enough water to sustain and grow economic activity and investment for our region.
“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.
“Using water efficiently is everyone’s responsibility to help secure our water supplies and maintain greener and more liveable communities now and into the future. Water saving ideas for the home, business and garden can be found on our website.
“We announce our rural season allocation on 1 July 2020, determined on our assessment of available water for the next two seasons,” said Mr Healy.
Further advice for customers on using water wisely in their homes, gardens and businesses is available through the Victorian Government’s Target Your Water Use program.
For more information on Reservoir Levels, Saving Water, Permanent Water Saving Rules and our Rural season, see our website www.coliban.com.au
Last updated on 01 Jun 2020