News
Water to burn: Bass River pumps turned off
Westernport Water suspended pumping of the Bass River after good rain brought Candowie Reservoir to 90% capacity this week.
With almost three months left of its winterfill pumping licence, the water corporation turned off the pumps at the Almurta site as Candowie reached 2040ML.The same week last year saw the dam containing 1193ML and, in 2006, just 937ML.
From 1 July to 4 August this year the water corporation pumped approximately 250ML of water from the Bass River. Over the same time Tennent Creek delivered approximately 665ML.
At the beginning of August, Tennent Creek was running at more than 18ML/day.
Acting Managing Director Keith Gregory said: “We decided to switch off the pumps to take advantage of the forecast rain flowing naturally into Candowie Reservoir. This demonstrates the environmentally responsible approach Westernport Water takes to extracting water from the Bass River. We only take water when it is needed.
“Last year’s pumping program saw us diverting a total of 659ML, which comprised only 3% of the river’s total flows. This year, we’ve taken less water and we’ve turned off the pumps much sooner,” he said.
“Our augmentation project is already proving itself a winner in terms of water stewardship and also in terms of supply requirements. There is enough water now for foreseeable demand,” Mr Gregory said.