Jessica Micallef
Above average autumn rainfall has catchment storages on the Coliban River near Kyneton in a good position for winter inflows, according to Coliban Water.
The water company’s climate and population adaption executive general manager Steve Healy said rainfall during the autumn months pushed the combined catchment storage volume at Upper Coliban, Lauriston and Malmsbury reservoirs to 69 per cent – 10 per cent higher than last year.
“Our autumn rainfall was 257 millimetres, which is compared to our long-term average of 149 millimetres,” he said.
“Last autumn, we had good rainfall in May, but this year we’ve had rain over three months.
“We recorded 35 millimetres at Malmsbury Reservoir on March 5, our highest daily rainfall for three years.
“With the wet catchment, we can expect some good inflows over the winter-spring period when we traditionally receive most of our annual inflow before our peak supper demand period.”
Mr Healy urged locals not to become complacent about water usage, despite the higher catchment storage levels.
“Permanent water saving rules are in place across our region and everything we do to conserve water – even in the cooler months – helps overall water security,” he said.
“Using water efficiently is everyone’s responsibility to help secure our water supplies and maintain greener and more livable communities now and into the future.”
Coliban Water services Macedon Ranges residents in Tylden, Kyneton and Malmsbury.
For more information on reservoir levels and water saving tips rules and tips, visit coliban.com.au
