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 Floods boost Ballarat's water catchments 

Floods boost Ballarat's water catchments

09 Sep, 2010 02:19 AM
IT caused heartache for those caught in floods, but last weekend's rain has already proved a boon for Ballarat's water storages.

Ballarat's water supply is now at 62.4 per cent capacity, a level not reached since February 2002.

In the last week, 9442 megalitres thundered into the city's reservoirs.

There are 46,886 megalitres available in the system, giving the city almost five year's worth of supply.

The total figures includes 9010 megalitres in water purchases and 1700 megalitres of groundwater.

Central Highlands Water spokeswoman Wendy Stubbs said huge inflows had been recorded throughout August and the first week of September.

''It will continue to come in because the catchments are so wet, which has been great for places like Lal Lal,'' Ms Stubbs said.

What effect the city's wet winter and first week of spring will have on water restrictions is not yet clear.

Ms Stubbs said CHW considered the matter each month and took into account aspects such as water consumption levels.

She said the authority's planning for the move to stage one restrictions earlier this year was based on average winter and spring rainfall.

Meanwhile, wet weather had caused some minor disruptions to the Ballarat water and sewerage systems at the weekend.

Ms Stubbs said fallen trees had burst water mains in two places at Smeaton caused decreased pressure to customers in that area.

''We were very fortunate to get through it all with fairly minimal disruption to customers throughout the weekend.''

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Date: Newest first | Oldest first
Great pictures of the catcthment areas. How about a story about Lake Learmonth? There's quite a bit of water in that now.
Posted by crazycatlady, 9/09/2010 7:33:42 AM, on The Ballarat Courier
THIS IS THE BEST SIGHT IVE SEEN IN YEARS,NOW WAITING TO SEE PYKES FULL LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS. SPEED BOATS & SKIERS SOME-WHERE TO GO IN THE HOT WEATHER!! CHEERS
Posted by geoffgranger, 9/09/2010 9:19:06 AM, on The Ballarat Courier
"She said the authority's planning for the move to stage one restrictions earlier this year was based on average winter and spring rainfall". What aboslute rubbish! The authority has millions of borrowed dollars invested in water that has come from the superpipe and it is sitting in catchments not being used. Problem: zilch return on investment. Solution: get rid of restrictions and get the suckers to use up some very expensive water. Problem solved: usage = dollars. All businesses need a return on investments. It's common sense. Just be honest with your customers CHW. It's that simple.
Posted by The Watcher, 9/09/2010 10:15:53 AM, on The Ballarat Courier
So suddenly CHW is giving us percentages again? You gotta be there for us in the good times and bad, CHW, not just when it suits you.
Posted by Shady Lady, 9/09/2010 11:01:34 AM, on The Ballarat Courier
Don't you just love all of the experts regarding the water situation; out they come from the woodwork again. No doubt these are the same ones bagging CHW for going onto Stage 4 Restrictions. Get real, guys, at least we have water unlike many other places in the world....
Posted by Hindsight, 9/09/2010 3:39:46 PM, on The Ballarat Courier

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WHAT A SIGHT: Last weekend's floods have proved a boon for Ballarat's water storages, including the Gong Gong Reservoir. Pictures: Zhenshi van der Klooster.
WHAT A SIGHT: Last weekend's floods have proved a boon for Ballarat's water storages, including the Gong Gong Reservoir. Pictures: Zhenshi van der Klooster.
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