Water levels in Auckland’s dams are creeping up following good rainfall over the past week.
The region’s population has been closely watching personal water consumption for more than a year now after the worst drought in history early last year with below average rainfall following a very dry 2019.
In May 2020, storage in the Hunua Ranges and Waitakere Ranges dams were at 44.5 per cent, more than 30 per cent below usual levels.
Auckland had to rely on taking more water from the Waikato River pipeline and imposing restrictions to minimise water usage.
In recent months dam storage levels have held around the high 40s and only recently touched 50 per cent-plus.
Today’s figures show 20mm fell in the Hunua Ranges yesterday with 26.5mm recorded over the past week.
In the Waitakere Ranges, 11.5mm of rainfall was recorded (18.5mm for the past seven days).
It has pushed dam water levels up to 56.02 per cent, still well below the normal 81.4 per cent levels for this time of year.
The region’s users continue to use water wisely, falling well within water consumption targets, Yesterday’s consumption was 401 million litres – the July target is 413 litres or less a day.
Yesterday’s seven-day rolling average was 402 million litres.
Meanwhile, weather forecasts for the next few days suggest intermittent light rain – with sun popping through tomorrow – with heavier falls possibly early next week.
