WHILE levels at Bootawa Dam have dropped to the lowest in its 40 year history, MidCoast Water customers are continuing to reduce their water use, lessening the impact of the falling water levels.
This week water levels in the dam – the main water supply for the area from Coopernook to Pacific Palms – dropped to 50 per cent for the first time as the effects of the ‘wet drought’ the area is currently experiencing continue to bite.
While there is a plentiful supply of water at the moment, thanks to the constant rain and storm activity, the quality of the water in the Manning River – which supplies Bootawa Dam – is poor, and as a result MidCoast Water has been unable to pump as often as usual.
MidCoast Water’s general manager Neil Hanington said the last few months had been a frustrating time for the local water authority.
While normally water is harvested daily, over the last few months MidCoast Water has only been able to pump a few days a month – four days during November and 10 each in December and January.
“We are taking the opportunity to harvest water as water quality improves in between rain events,” Mr Hanington said.
Mr Hanington said limited pumping was able to take place early this week, before the rain reduced water quality.
While there is no danger of ‘running out’ of water, there is a chance the water will deteriorate in quality if MidCoast Water is forced to pump small amounts of river water into the dam, Mr Hanington said.
“There is no real point in us looking at restrictions to reduce the water use, as most levels of restrictions focus on reducing the amount of water used outdoors – and at the moment most customers are not needing to use water in their gardens, given the amount of rain we are experiencing,” Mr Hanington explained.
MidCoast Water customers are already using less water this summer than last, with a nine per cent reduction in use recorded.
“This is a fantastic effort by our customers, as last year’s usage was 19 per cent down on an average year. It looks like this year the area will use about nine gigalitres of water – where five years ago we were using 11.”
The construction of a $60 million treatment plant for the Bootawa Dam water supply is currently underway. Expected to be online early in 2009, this will improve water quality for MidCoast Water customers.
MidCoast Water is also working with farming groups and the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority to improve the health of the catchment and reduce the amount of sediment washed into the river during heavy rain.