Geelong’s water storages have hit their lowest level “since the end of the millennium drought”, Barwon Water has announced.
A “drier-than-dry climate scenario” had left the Geelong system at 40 per cent, said managing director Joe Adamski.
The level was its lowest since February 2010 when capacity was at 32 per cent.
“Each year, Barwon Water prepares a Water Security Outlook that outlines expected storage levels based on a wet, median or dry climate scenario. Actual levels have now fallen below the dry scenario in each of Barwon Water’s supply areas, including Geelong,” Mr Adamski said.
Mr Adamski said Geelong had back-up sources if extremely dry conditions continued, including a borefield and a Melbourne-Geelong pipeline.
Geelong’s Otway Ranges storage, West Barwon Reservoir, was at 20.9 per cent capacity this week, or 4.5 billion litres, Mr Adamski said.
This time last year it was almost 80 per cent full, with 17 billion litres.
About 787mm of rain was recorded at the reservoir in 2015, the lowest total since 2006.
Below-average rain were recorded in all but two months of the year, January and May.
February has so far recorded 12.8mm, 77 per cent below average.
West Barwon had received inflows of 30 million litres so far this month compared to the long-term February average of 500 million.
Mr Adamski said Barwon Water would continue to monitor storages, forecasts and demand trends on a daily.
