Council relies on dam big rainfall

TOWNSVILLE City Council is banking on heavy rainfall to replenish the Ross Dam as water levels remain below 15 per cent.

Council general manager water and waste Scott Moorhead said Townsville was experiencing a once- in- ageneration drought.

Level 3 restrictions continue with Level 4 applying when the dam level reaches 10 per cent capacity.

Yesterday the level 14.7 per cent.

“When that occurs is dependent on rainfall and usage,” Mr Moorhead said.

“The best way to prevent that from happening is to stick to using less than 100ML a day.”

Mr Moorhead said work was under way on the Haughton Pipeline Duplication, which would be finished within 26 months.

“At this stage the dam is at 14.7 per cent, which means council is still pumping water from the Burdekin,” he said.

“It’s still a few weeks off the predicted heavy rainfalls which should make an impact on the dam levels.

“But council is keeping a close eye on the dam levels and continually assessing the was need to review water restrictions.”

The council declined to say if or when it believed Level 4 restrictions would be implemented.

Mr Moorhead said in the lead- up to Christmas the average water use was around 100ML per day which was due to the “excellent work by residents” in being mindful of their water use and following water restrictions.

“With the increase in rainfall over the last couple of days that’s dropped to around 80ML per day,” he said.

He said people could conserve water by following the rules under the current Level 3 water restrictions. Those rules forbid the use of sprinklers and irrigation systems and only permit handheld watering between designated hours.