Metro Weekly Water Update - 23 October 2020
| Target | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| October water use to date | 17.2 billion litres |
17.6 billion litres |
| Dam storage levels | NA | 50.4 per cent |
| Monthly streamflow into dams | N/A | 2.87 billion litres |
| October rainfall to date | 51.5 mm (Oct average rainfall 1876-2016) | 12.6 mm |
| Note: 1 billion litres = approximately 400 Olympic swimming pools. Please note the figures in this table are rounded (except for rainfall) to the nearest whole number. | ||
Water use
Average water use over the past week was 835 million litres per day, which was above the forecast of 780 million litres.
Daily water use for the last 5 days
| Date | Actual water use (million litres) | Forecast water use (million litres) |
|---|---|---|
| 23/10/2020 | 832 | 793 |
| 22/10/2020 | 822 | 793 |
| 21/10/2020 | 819 | 793 |
| 20/10/2020 | 837 | 793 |
| 19/10/2020 | 923 | 762 |
| Note, water use is calculated up to 8am each day for the previous 24 hour period. | ||
Since 1 July 2020, we have used 72.46 billion litres of water – which is 0.34 billion litres under the forecast target for this period.
Dam levels (total for 15 dams)
The dam storage levels have decreased slightly this week and are sitting at a combined 50.4 per cent* of full capacity.
*Please note some dams are filled from different sources - dam levels include the transfer of groundwater and desalinated seawater from treatment plants as well as streamflow (that comes from rainfall). As we use many different sources of water, dams are no longer an accurate indicator of the health of Perth's overall water supply situation.
Streamflow (total for 15 dams)
From 1 May 2020 the dams have received 37.6 billion litres of streamflow. The post-1975 average for the May to April period (called the streamflow year) is 176.73 billion litres.
Sprinkler roster compliance
Since 1 January 2020, we have taken a total of 4687 actions (warnings + fines) compared with 7043 actions for the same period in 2019.
Annual rainfall
Perth has received 581.4 mm of rainfall since 1 January 2020. The average (1994-2019) rainfall for the same period to the end of October is 694.1 mm.
General water news
National Water Week is always a very busy and exciting time for the team at Water Corporation, as it provides an opportunity to remind West Australians about the importance of being waterwise, particularly as summer approaches.
Water is our most precious resource and now, more than ever, we all have a role to play in being waterwise as the effects of climate change continue to impact the amount of rainfall we receive.
That is why this National Water Week, Water Corporation launched its new educational campaign to inspire action among individuals, communities and organisations, to make small changes to their daily water use practices and use water more wisely.
The campaign uses the simple metaphor of a household tap to visualise how climate change has impacted rainfall runoff since the 1970s, and seeks to help people understand what needs to change to secure WA’s water supply for the future. It will run in print, radio, outdoor and digital media from now until December 2020.
For more, visit www.watercorporation.com.au.