AS most residents battle the heat, Orange’s water supply has not suffered as much as the temperature gauge and weeks of sunny days might suggest.
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Torrential rainfall in the second week of January meant the stormwater harvesting systems and the Macquarie River pipeline contributed 71 megalitres to Suma Park Dam.
Dry paddocks around Suma Park meant there was no direct run-off into the dam, but the Ploughman’s Creek wetlands added more than eight megalitres of water to supplies during the week.
But Orange City Council spokesman Nick Redmond said the best flows were triggered when the storms dropped good falls on the upper reaches of the Macquarie River.
“That rain hundreds of kilometres away from Orange, boosted the level of the river and let Orange pump 63.3 megalitres of water through the pipeline into Suma Park during the week,” he said.
“Earlier in the week, the flow in the Macquarie River was 1462 megalitres per day, which means the pipeline to Orange is pumping less than 1 per cent of that flow each day.”
The amount we’re using has climbed this week to 236 litres per person per day – last week, with the storms we were using an average of 187 litres per person per day.
- Council spokesman Nick Redmond
Total storage remains at 47 per cent capacity.
With level three water restrictions still in place, the council has urged residents to do what they can to save water, with household usage creeping up.
“With this week’s heatwave conditions, it’s understandable that locals want to use more water to keep their gardens going,” Mr Redmond said.
“That also means the amount we’re using has climbed this week to 236 litres per person per day – last week, with the storms we were using an average of 187 litres per person per day.”
Mr Redmond said residents were keeping an eye on their neighbourhoods and the council had written about a dozen letters to homes and businesses during the week where there was concern people were using water outside the restrictions.
“In case there’s any misunderstanding, we’re passing on some more information about the restrictions and how people can make the case for a an exemption from the restrictions in special circumstances,” he said.
For more information about water restrictions, click here.
Two of Israel’s leading experts on managing water supplies will visit Orange on Monday to inspect the stormwater harvesting scheme.
They will tour the constructed wetlands and water storage dams.
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