5 February 2010
Hot, dry and usage high as dams down 0.4%
Minimal rain, hot weather and a spike in consumption has seen water storages fall by 0.4% of capacity in the past week.
The decrease, which represents an overall decline of 7.6 billion litres, came as the major catchments received very little rainfall.
The major catchments had between 0.0 and 3.8 mm of rain, with an average of 0.4 mm.
This was well below the long-term average for the period, 13.3 mm. The amount of water flowing into the major reservoirs was also down on historical levels.
The 1.9 billion litres of streamflow was 50% below the average of 3.8 billion litres.
Storages are now 35.9% (649.9 billion litres) full, compared with 32.8% (581.6 billion litres) at the same time last year – a difference of more than 68 billion litres.
The hot and dry weather saw residential water consumption increase, with Melburnians using an average of 189 litres per person per day.
This was much higher than the daily target of 155 litres per person.
More information on restrictions and tips on how to reach the target are available from Target 155 or by contacting the government water retailers.
Stage 3a restrictions and Target 155 are currently in place.
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Media Contact: Andrew McGinnes +613 9235 7277 +61 (0)403 930 846