Table showing target and actual water use, dam levels, streamflow and rainfall
  Target Actual
January water use to date 25 billion litres 24 billion litres
Dam storage levels NA 46%
Weekly streamflow into dams NA 44 billion litres
January rainfall to date 16.7mm (Jan average rainfall 1994-2017) 1.8mm
Note: 1 billion litres = approximately 400 Olympic swimming pools. Please note the figures in this table are rounded (except for rainfall) to the nearest whole number.
 

Water use

Average water use over the past week was 987 million litres per day, which was above the forecast of 1,051 million litres.

Daily water use for the last 5 days

Table showing daily water use for the last 5 days
Date Actual water use (million litres) Forecast water use (million litres)
24/01/2020 1008 1051
23/01/2020 954 1051
22/01/2020 959 1051
21/01/2020 988 1051
20/12/2020 1058 1051
Note, water use is calculated up to 8am each day for the previous 24 hour period.

Since 1 July 2019, we have used 165 billion litres of water – which is around 6 billion litres over the forecast for this period

Dam level (total for 15 dams)

The dam storage levels have dropped slightly this week and are sitting at a combined 46.2 per cent* of full capacity.

*Please note some dams are filled from different sources - dam levels include the transfer of groundwater and desalinated seawater from treatment plants as well as streamflow (that comes from rainfall). As we use many different sources of water, dams are no longer an accurate indicator of the health of Perth's overall water supply situation.

Streamflow (total for 15 dams)

From 1 May 2019 the dams have received 44.1 billion litres of streamflow. The post-1975 average for the May to April period (called the streamflow year) is 183.9 billion litres.

Sprinkler roster compliance

The two-day a week sprinkler roster now applies. Since 1 January 2020, we have taken a total of 641 actions (warnings + fines) compared with 722 actions for the same period in 2019.

Annual rainfall

Perth has received 1.80 mm of rainfall since 1 January 2019. The average (1994-2017) rainfall for the January period is 16.7 mm.

General water news

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast temperatures higher than 30 degrees every day for the long weekend in Perth, which means many residents will be spending time in their pools. Did you know that without a pool cover, it's possible to lose more than your pool's entire volume of water every year through evaporation?

Using a pool cover between swims not only keeps your pool warmer and cleaner it also reduces the amount of water lost to evaporation.

When choosing a pool cover look for the Waterwise and Smart Approved WaterMark symbols to ensure you are getting the best quality products.


Media Enquiries:

Contact: Clare Lugar

Position: Manager Media and Strategic Communications

Phone: (08) 9420 2555