East Gippsland Water has published its Annual Water Outlook Summary, which analyses rainfall and climate data to understand the likelihood of water supplies meeting demand in 2025.
The utility said most of East Gippsland’s water supply systems received average or above-average rainfall over the 12 months to September 2024. However, most streamflows in waterways used for drinking water are below the five-year average.
East Gippsland Water Coordinator Water Resources, Travis Sloan, said Dinner Plain was the only catchment to receive below-average rainfall, while Cann River and Mallacoota received above-average rainfall.
“Although most catchments received average rainfall, many areas had about six months of below-average rainfall. The figures were boosted due to a few major rainfall events, such as Mallacoota receiving 200mm of rain in November 2023 and 181mm in December 2023,” Mr Sloan said.
“We operate nine separate water supply systems, which source water from rivers, creeks, and/or underground water (aquifers). At the time of compiling the Annual Water Outlook, we predicted that all of East Gippsland Water’s storages will remain relatively full this year and within normal operating range.”
Mr Sloan said conditions as at January 2025 support that prediction.
“Our water storage levels are sitting at around 90 per cent capacity, reinforcing that we are in a secure position this year.
“Based on these conditions, we do not expect water restrictions to be required in any of our drinking water supply systems this year. Of course, this could be impacted by extreme events such as bushfires or extended power outages,” Mr Sloan said.
The Annual Water Outlook keeps customers informed about East Gippsland’s drinking water supply systems by providing information on the condition of catchments, rainfall and streamflow outlooks, and each town’s water demand.
“This helps us assess the ability of our systems to provide water to the community and determine the likelihood of water restrictions during periods of drought.
“We also track short- and long-term projects in the Annual Water Outlook that are identified from our Urban Water Strategy or during daily operations.”
The utility said demand for water resources has been relatively stable over the past 10 years.
East Gippsland Water sources between 4500 to 6000 million litres of water per year. Actual water demand for 2024/25 is on track with the corporation’s Urban Water Strategy 2024/25 projected demand of 5000ML.
Read the Annual Water Outlook Summary here.
