Our dams have gone up! And there was much rejoicing!
From the office of Stanhope:
ACT DAM LEVELS REACH 50 PER CENT
Recent rains across the ACT and surrounding region have spelt good news for water levels in our catchment, with dam levels nudging 50%, ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said today.
“Overall, our dams are now at 49.92 percent of capacity – that’s a big improvement on just a fortnight ago, when water storage levels stood at 44.7%,†Mr Stanhope said. “Rainfall throughout the catchment has resulted in an increase of 5.3% in total combined water storage.
“Building on the excellent rains of late June, the ACT has already recorded more than 80 millimetres — double the July average — so far this month.
“The rains have had a dual benefit. Not only are they gradually filling our dams, they have resulted in a significant drop in water consumption, especially by domestic users, right across the Territory.
“Since the rains arrived our daily consumption levels have been regularly down on our winter target of 111 megalitres a day.â€
Since 28 June both the Cotter and Googong catchments have received more than 150 mm of rain, resulting in healthy boosts to all dam levels.
Mr Stanhope warned that while recent rains had been most welcome, they hadn’t been the drought-breaking falls the community had hoped for.
“Significant follow-up falls in the months ahead are needed, and it is important that Canberrans continue to be responsible in their water use and remember that Stage 2 water restrictions still apply,†Mr Stanhope said.
However, percentages are a nasty beast and I think he’s got his figures wrong. I make the increase from 44.7 per cent to 49.9 per cent to be an increase of 11.7 percent as well as one of 5 percentage points. Probably many people don’t know the difference although it is subtle but important. And 11 per cent sounds more impressive, so if they’d just looked at it again…
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