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Recent heavy rainfall across the Port Macquarie-Hastings region has prompted the lifting of level 3 water restriction
Due to the improved the outlook of the region's dam levels the council’s general manager Craig Swift-McNair has lifted the level 3 bans.
Mandatory level 1 water conservation measures continue to be in place. For full details on these measures, please visit council’s website or your local council office.
Council adopted water restriction trigger levels in 2013 and restriction levels are determined by an assessment of daily customer demands, storage volume available in our dams, and the flow and quality of our river flows.
The "trigger level" for return to Level 1 is 85 per cent combined storage in Port Macquarie and Cowarra Dam. Also, the level and flow in the Hastings River at Koree Island extraction point needs to have sufficient flow to allow for consistent pumping and climatic conditions need to be favourable.
Port Macquarie’s Dam level is 82.2 per cent and the Cowarra Dam is at 86.3 per cent, making a combined level of 85.5 per cent. Flows within the Hastings River have increased due to recent rainfall events with a positive forecast for consistent pumping in the coming months.
“The local community has responded well to help conserve our water resources over the past 12 months,” Mr Swift-McNair said. “With the recent rainfall together with the community’s mindfulness with water during the dry season, our dam levels have now stabilised,” said Mr. Swift-McNair.