Metro weekly water update 25 January 2019

	Target	Actual
January water use to date	25 billion litres	24 billion litres
Dam storage levels	N/A	52 per cent
Cumulative streamflow into dams	181 billion litres (Post 1975 May to January average)	147 billion litres
January rainfall to date	16.7 mm (January mean rainfall 1994-2017)   9.7 mm (January average rainfall 1876-2016)	7 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 993 million litres, which was slightly below the forecast of 1.057 billion litres.

 

Since 1 July 2018, we have used 158 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 status of Perth's water supply situation.

 

Streamflow (total for 15 dams)

 

From 1 May 2018 to 17 January 2019 the dams have received 147 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 152 warnings and 145 fines this week.  Since 1 January 2019, we have taken a total of 722 actions (warnings + fines) compared with 669 actions for the same period in 2018.

 

Annual rainfall

 

Perth has received 7 mm of rainfall since 1 January.  Average rainfall for January (1994-2017) is 16.7 mm.

 

 

General water news

 

Many Western Australians will be spending time in their pools over the long-weekend. Did you know that without a pool cover, it's possible to lose more than your pool's entire volume of water every year through evaporation?

 

Using a pool cover between swims not only keeps your pool warmer and cleaner it also reduces the amount of water lost to evaporation.

 

When choosing a pool cover look for the Waterwise and Smart Approved WaterMark symbols to ensure you are getting the best quality products.