THE NAMBUCCA Valley is brown and parched but at least we have the comfort of the new Bowraville Dam – so spare a thought for our neighbours in Bellingen Shire who are on the brink of near unprecedented water restrictions.
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With river levels in both Dorrigo and Bellingen predicted to drop to level not seen in two decades, Level 3 water restrictions for the Bellingen Shire were brought in this week.
Previously on Level 1, Level 2 was leap-frogged due to a larger than expected drop in water in the Bellinger River catchment during the past week.
With uncertain rain forecasts, deputy general manager of operations, Matt Fanning said council, in discussions with the DPI Water, had to act proactively and further implement its Drought Management plan.
“We are at Level 3 due to the lack of rain - the rate of flow in the river has been dropping very quickly, and not all residents have heeded the level 1 restrictions with consumption increasing over the past weeks." he said.
“Today’s 15.7 megalitres per day compares to the average flow of 225 megalitres per day for last year.
“The trigger point for Level 4 is five megalitres per day. We have only reached this level once in the early 90s, looking at data from 1983 onwards.
“As of today we are halfway between Level 3 and Level 4.
“While we are hoping it will rain sometime in the near future to restore the environment and the ability of the people to look after their lovely lawns and gardens, in the meantime it is of utmost importance that the community complies with the current restrictions, and hopefully this will avoid the need to implement Level 4.
“As a community we need to take responsibility for our water usage, please take into consideration the sensitive nature of the environment - we are especially concerned about the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle. The lower the flows the larger the effect on the species.”
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It’s been noted by the BOM’s local data collector, Darcey Browning, that this year is the second driest spring on record.
And moving forward, given the perilous changes to climate, the council said it is looking at alternate water sources should they be needed.
“Council this year is undertaking a secure yield analysis study,” Matt said.
“This means we will determine the security of our natural water supply for the future and whether or not alternate backup water supplies will be required in the long-term.
“What these last few months have proven is that the Valley was once considered reasonably drought-proof. However, it’s now been demonstrated that we can go dry.
“If the results of the secure yield analysis show this could be an issue moving forward, we will lobby the state government for funding to ensure water does not become a problem.”
Matt said the council will place signs coming into the Shire telling visitors the local government area is under Level 3 restrictions.
In addition, if residents or commercial operators have any particular concerns regarding the use of their water they should contact the council on 6655 7300.
Level 3 Water Restrictions
Level 3 water restrictions are triggered when the flow in the Bellinger River reaches 23 ML/day, and/or when flows in the Bielsdown River reach 20 ML/day.
Currently the flow in the Bellinger River is 18 ML/Day, with the Bielsdown River at 21 ML/day. In both cases the flows are falling.
- A summary of Level 3 water restrictions are:
- No irrigation permitted (no micro-sprays, drippers/sub surface watering).
- Use of buckets anytime, hand watering will be 10 minutes every second day between the hours of 4pm and 9am on alternate days, odd and even numbered days matching house numbers.
- No washing of houses or driveways. No filling of pools.
- Vehicles must be washed with a bucket.
