Metro weekly water update - 1 February 2019

 

	Target	Actual
February water use to date	1 billion litres	1 billion litres
Dam storage levels	N/A	52 per cent
Cumulative streamflow into dams	181 billion litres (Post 1975 May to January average)	149 billion litres
February rainfall to date	13.0 mm (January mean rainfall 1994-2017)   12.5 mm (January average rainfall 1876-2016)	0 mm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: 1 billion litres = approx. 400 Olympic swimming pools.  Please note these figures are rounded (except for rainfall) to the nearest whole number.

 

Water use

 

Average daily water use over the last week was 1025 million litres, which was slightly below the forecast of 1056 million litres.

 

Since 1 July 2018, we have used 165 billion litres of water - this is 4 billion litres above what we had forecast for this period.  It’s worth noting our forecast for winter/spring was more ambitious than previous years and actual total water use is around the same as this time last year.

 

Dam level (total for 15 dams)

 

The dam storage level has decreased slightly over the past week, sitting at 52 per cent* of full capacity.

 

*Please note some dams are filled from different sources - dam levels include the transfer of groundwater and desalinated seawater from treatment plants as well as streamflow (that comes from rainfall).  Dam levels are no longer an accurate indicator of the health of Perth's water supply situation.

 

Streamflow (total for 15 dams)

 

From 1 May 2018 to 30 January 2019 the dams had received 149 billion litres of streamflow.  The post-1975 average for the May to January period is 181 billion litres.

 

Sprinkler roster compliance

 

The two-day-a-week sprinkler roster now applies across Perth, so make sure your sprinklers are programmed for your rostered water days and only to come on once, either before 9am or after 6pm.

 

Our team of inspectors issued 86 warnings and 67 fines this week.  Since 1 January 2019, we have taken a total of 875 actions (warnings + fines) compared with 875 actions for the same period in 2018.

 

Annual rainfall

 

Perth has received 7 mm of rainfall since 1 January.  Average rainfall for January and February (1994-2017) is 29.7 mm.

 

General water news

 

The Waterwise Council Program has been running since 2009, and in Perth, over 80 per cent of councils are now part of it. 

 

There’s some great work happening by your local councils to save water.  To showcase this we’ve put together four short videos that also feature plenty of locals.  The videos are available to watch on our Water for Life webpage – why not check them out!

 

Waterwise councils have access to funding, educational workshops and training.  To find out if your local council is part of the program visit this page.