Water restriction levels to be reviewed after rain

« Back

Goondiwindi Regional Council will review the water restrictions across the region at its next meeting, Mayor Graeme Scheu announced today.

With some good rain falling across much of the region in the past few weeks, Council will re-assess the restriction level in every town according to the Drought Management Plan at its meeting on 26 February.

However, he warned that more rain may be needed before restrictions are lifted.

“Recent rains have proved a great boost to much of the region and it’s been brilliant to see,” Cr Scheu said.

“But the inconsistency of where that rain has fallen makes things challenging,” Cr Scheu said.

“We’ve had good falls around the Dumaresq, Macintyre and Weir Rivers and the Macintyre Brook, but are waiting for confirmation from SunWater, Water NSW and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy to confirm the supply that has flowed into each town’s storage.

“For example, the Goondiwindi catchment has seen a good rise in the Macintyre River at Boggabilla and Goondiwindi, but there has been very little rain in the upper catchment.

“Water is still flowing so it’s difficult to say right now how it will impact our storages, but we will gain a fuller understanding of its impact in the next week or so.”

Under Council’s Drought Management Plan, the different levels in water restrictions are dependent upon the amount of water available in storage for each town.

“There may be little point relaxing restrictions where we are only just above the storage requirements, and we would then have to tighten them again a few weeks, if we don’t keep getting good rain,” the Mayor said.

13th February 2020 at 12:00 AM