Here's a quick quiz: How do Hunter dam levels compare now to one year ago?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
a) The same ... b) Up 5 per cent ... c) Up 10 per cent.
Whatever you answered, you're wrong - sorry about that but I'm trying to make a point.
Despite the fact that the valley is green, our gardens are looking good, our fortnightly market is operating again with loads of produce for sale, and there has been what seems a steady drop of rain for some time now, our dam levels are actually down on one year ago.
Yep, down.
Hunter Water figures this week show that Hunter dam levels are at 66.5 per cent. One year ago we were just over 67 per cent.
Agreed it's not a major change, but baffling nonetheless considering this time last year the effect of the drought was so severe that we were starting to talk water restrictions being put in place. And by September they were when our water levels hit their lowest point in 25 years.
These were increased to Level 2 restrictions from January of this year when our dam levels had plunged to their lowest in 40 years, but eased back to Level 1 in late February. We remain at Level 1 today.
The Mercury went to Hunter Water to try to get some form of explanation.
"Hunter Water's storage levels are lower than they were this time last year, because we haven't fully recovered from the severe drought," a Hunter Water spokesperson said. "While we have received some welcome rain since February, it hasn't created enough runoff to refill our dams and groundwater storages."
Okay, well why the vast change in individual dam levels?
The figure of 66.5 per cent is averaged across the region's four dams - Chichester, Grahamstown, Anna Bay and Tomago sandbeds. But there have been major individual changes in that time.
Chichester, for example, is currently at 100 per cent, up 20 per cent on a year ago.
Anna Bay too is well up. It sits at 61 per cent capacity, up 11 per cent on a year ago.
But the story is very different at Tomago sandbeds where it's down 12.2 per cent to 56 per cent.
And Grahamstown, easily the largest of the four - it holds more than double the amount of water of the other three added together - is largely unchanged, down just 0.2 per cent.
"Chichester Dam is a relatively small dam that can fill quickly when there is decent rain, while in contrast, Grahamstown Dam is a large dam that needs to be filled, largely, with water that is pumped from the Williams River at Seaham," the spokesperson said.
"While there have been a number of small to moderate flow events in the Williams River, more rain is required to fill Grahamstown Dam.
"Our two groundwater systems, Tomago and Anna Bay Sandbeds, rely on rainfall to recover. Anna Bay has received some high, localised rainfall over the past 12 months which has helped increase its total.
"We have been drawing water from the Tomago sandbeds since June 3, 2019 to provide additional security for our water supplies as part of our drought response."
Another factor in the equation is that three of the four are relatively shallow, meaning that evaporation is a greater problem in the Hunter than in other areas. Only Chichester, at 37 metres has any significant depth. Grahamstown, on the other hand is just nine metres, and both sandbeds obviously shallow too.
So with rain falling, is the public continue to take the waster restrictions as seriously as they did?
"Our customers and community continue to Love Water by using almost 20 per cent less than expected, given the weather conditions. This is a fantastic result and we encourage them to keep up the great work.
"We continue to encourage our community to keep saving water around their homes by reducing showers to four minutes and waiting for a full load before using the dishwasher and washing machine."
