Metro region weekly water update - data as at 5 Oct 2017

• October water use to date is 3.3 billion litres versus a target of 3.4 billion litres

   

• Dam storage levels are 45.1%

   

• Flow into dams – 79.2 billion litres of streamflow since 1 May 2017

   

• October rainfall to date – 0 mm to date.  Average rainfall for October is 51.8mm

   

Residential vs business water use

Here at the Water Corporation we are often asked who uses the most water – households or businesses.  It might surprise you to know that residential water use is far greater than business/commercial water use in Perth.  In fact, residential is over three times greater than business/commercial water use.

As our climate continues to change it’s important for us to remain conscious of our water use– both at home and at work.  So, while at home or work this weekend, remember to switch off the sprinklers as rain is forecast. 

Water use

Our average daily water use last week was 646 million litres, which was below the forecast of 680 million litres per day.  This water was used by the two million people who are connected to the Integrated Water Supply Scheme, which delivers water to Perth, parts of the south west, Agricultural and Goldfields regions. 

Our financial year to date water use is 56.6 billion litres – good news as it’s less than the 56.8 billion litres we forecasted. 

Dam levels

Over the last seven days Perth’s dam storage levels increased from 44.2% to 45.1% (0.9 percentage points).  This was partly due to them receiving about 4.2 billion litres of inflow from streams.  This brings the total streamflow to 79.2 billion litres since 1 May 2017.  The post-1975 average for annual streamflow is 189 billion litres.  Perth’s dams also store ground and desalinated water that is transferred from our treatment plants.

Sprinkler roster compliance

The two-day-per week Sprinkler roster now applies, and this week our inspectors issued 24 warnings and 27 fines in the metro region.  This is compared to 25 warnings and 16 fines the previous week.   Year to date we have taken a total of 7509 actions (warnings + fines) compared to 8335 actions for the same period in 2016.   

Rainfall

The average monthly rainfall for October is 51.8mm but for the last three years we have received less than this amount.  So far this month we have received 0mm of rainfall.

Since 1 January 2017, we have received 766.6mm of rainfall compared to the cumulative average of 811.2mm (January to October).

General water news

National Water Week is coming up this month and the theme this year is “Water – the heart of our culture”.  The week runs from 15 – 21 October and encourages young people and schools to explore how water shapes our everyday lives through recreational activities, the natural world and our community values.