Coast faces drought readiness measures as supply falls
THE Coast's run of dry weather has triggered talk of water restrictions as south east Queensland's water supply falls towards 70 per cent of capacity.
Baroon Pocket Dam, the Coast's main supply source, has fallen to below 50% of capacity for the first time since Cyclone Debbie brought boosting rains.
The 12 south east Queensland dams that make up the region's supply were at 72.6% capacity on Wednesday morning.
Seqwater communication manager Mike Foster said the authority would start drought readiness mode when that combined level dropped to 70%.
That does not include any restrictions, but instead increased public awareness campaigns about reducing consumption.
"This phase is about getting south east Queensland ready for the possibility of drought and will encourage increased water efficiency,” Mr Foster said.
"One of the key lessons from the millennium drought is the importance of engaging with the community early.
"By better managing our water supply we can help delay and even potentially avoid the need for formal water restrictions.”
He said voluntary water conservation measures would be implemented across south east Queensland if capacity fell to 60%.
They would include encouraging the community to limit its water use to 150 litres per person, per day.
"The current forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology is indicating a likelihood of another dry, hot summer, although it is also forecasting the potential for above average rainfall this spring for south east Queensland.”
The authority is confident there would need to be two more failed dry seasons before water restrictions were enforced.
Coast residents currently use on average the most water per person each day compared to other south east Queensland areas.
They use about 221L a person, a day, while the the south east Queensland average is 185L a person, a day.
The next highest individual use is Gold Coast residents, which uses about 206L a person, a day.
Scenic Rim residents had the lowest average of 117L per person, per day.
"Seqwater is undertaking a range of initiatives and projects to increase water supply security for the Sunshine Coast after two consecutive poor wet seasons and record low inflows in the region's largest dam Lake Baroon last summer,” Mr Foster said.
"In July, Ewen Maddock Water Treatment Plant was brought back online, with a further seven key water infrastructure projects under way to increase the capacity of the water grid to move water to the Sunshine Coast.
"These projects help supplement the northern region by improving Seqwater's capacity to transport drinking water from the central Brisbane region to help conserve Sunshine Coast dams when we need to.”
