The water scarcity hitting Western Victoria has cleared out dam supplies around Ballarat and has left growers concerned about bore levels.
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There’s no let up. It’s diabolical. I can’t understand how there hasn’t been drought declared in this area.
- Norm Suckling
Newlyn district farmer Norm Suckling said he was shocked a drought had not been declared.
“This is the mother of all droughts. I’ve never seen one this bad,” he said.
“There’s no let up. It’s diabolical. I can’t understand how there hasn’t been drought declared in this area.”
Mr Suckling said his costs had soared because of the dry year.
“The amount of fuel and electricity we’re using to pump water is double,” he said.
Mr Suckling said his two farms looked set to lose money this year because of the expense of keeping things going in current conditions.
“We won’t end up with tonnage to make it profitable at the other end.”
Clarkes Hill potato grower Dominic Prendergast said his current crop was looking good but they were struggling for water supplies.
“The dams are nearly empty, it’s unprecedented the amount of demand for water we’ve got at the moment,” he said.
“(But) the crops are looking good so long as we’ve still got enough.”
“The bores are holding up, but they’ve been taxed very hard this year.”
Forecast rains for mid-January have not an impact so far, with Monday night’s quick burst of heavy rain stopping short of filling up dams.
According to Weatherzone, 4 millimetres fell in Ballarat, but Mr Prendergast said he only picked up 1.25 millimetres.
Mr Suckling said the lower water levels meant existing supplies did not last as long.
“There is a lot of evaporation, compared to normal, from the heat, and also plants aren’t meant to grow in conditions where we’re getting a lot high 30s.”
Mr Prendergast said rain needed to come soon.
“Hopefully we get a rain in the next few weeks. We haven’t had one in three or four months,” he said.
“We’ve got 17 mil there a couple of weeks ago, but it virtually disappeared overnight.”
Weatherzone meteorologist Kim Westcott said there was little chance of a replenishing rain in the next week, but said there was a chance of one strong rain day before January 26.
Wednesday will see another incredibly hot day with 39 degrees forecast.
Mr Suckling said drought relief from the state government would go some way to helping relieve the cost burden of pumping water all the time.