Perth metro weekly water update 20 September 2019

 

	Target	Actual
September water use to date	12 billion litres	13 billion litres
Dam storage levels	N/A	52 per cent
Weekly streamflow into dams	N/A	35 billion litres
September rainfall to date	87 mm (August average rainfall 1994-2017)	31.4 mm
Note: 1 billion litres = approx. 400 Olympic swimming pools. Please note the figures in this table are rounded (except for rainfall) to the nearest whole number.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water use

 

Average water use over the last week was 693 million litres per day, which was above the forecast of 625 million litres.

 

Daily water use for the last five days
Date	Actual water use (million litres)	Forecast (million litres)
20/09/2019	724	633
19/09/2019	634	633
18/09/2019	645	633
17/09/2019	682	633
16/09/2019	745	613
Note: water use is calculated up to 8am each day for the previous 24 hour period

 

Since 1 July 2019, we have used 48.9 billion litres of water – which is over the forecast for this period.

 

Dam level (total for 15 dams)

The dam storage levels have remained stable this week and are sitting at a combined 52.1 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).  As we use many different sources of water, dams are no longer an accurate indicator of the health of Perth's overall water supply situation.

 

Streamflow (total for 15 dams)

 

From 1 May 2019 the dams have received 34.7 billion litres of streamflow.  The post-1975 average for the May to April period (called the streamflow year) is 183.9 billion litres.

 

Sprinkler roster compliance

 

The summer sprinkler roster now applies but there’s no need to rush out and turn your sprinklers on as gardens are still getting plenty of water from rainfall.

 

Since 1 January 2019, we have taken a total of 6279 actions (warnings + fines) compared with 6306 actions for the same period in 2018.

 

Annual rainfall

 

Perth has received 542 mm of rainfall since 1 January 2019. The cumulative average (1994-2017) rainfall for the January to September period is 659.2 mm.

 

General water news

 

With the glorious spring weather enticing people outdoors now is a great time to consider visiting one of our many dams.

 

Water Corporation manages 125 dams across the State with many having the dual role of drinking water source and popular picnic spot.

 

We encourage the community to enjoy these picturesque sites, with the fantastic visitor facilities including walking trails, picnic areas and look outs.

 

But we ask visitors to help keep our important drinking water clean and protect the environment. This includes obeying directional and informational signage, keeping to pathways, roads and recreational areas, not littering, and leaving pets at home.

 

We do have to occasionally close dams due to bushfire risk or to carry out maintenance and upgrades.

 

We encourage visitors to call us on 13 13 75 or check our Facebook page for any dam closure notifications.

 

Did you know that before 1975, Perth’s dams would receive an average of 420 billion litres of streamflow each year. Due to climate change, last year, Perth’s dams received just over 133 billion litres of streamflow – and that was a good year! 

 

To find out more about visiting dams and to see a full list of rules to follow, visit https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/dams/visiting-our-dams