The community of the Port Macquarie-Hastings can breathe a collective sigh of relief after recent rain helped to top up the region's dams to 100 per cent combined capacity.
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Just six months ago the outlook was dire, as Port Macquarie had recorded its lowest recorded rainfall in almost 120 years.
The 514 millimetres of rain which fell on Port Macquarie throughout 2019 was the lowest recorded amount since 1870.
By January 29 the combined total storage of the Port Macquarie Dam and the Cowarra Dam was at just 37.9 per cent.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council Infrastructure Planning group manager Cameron Hawkins said the severe drought saw level four water restrictions come into effect after there were 60 days of recorded no flows for the Hastings River.
"It was just really unprecedented," he said.
"It's almost like a one in 2000 or 3000 year drought."
Mr Hawkins said the last time the dams were at 100 per cent capacity would have been at the end of 2018.
He said in the first couple of months of 2020 staff were able to pump more water into the dams than they had been able to for the entire year of 2019.
February produced some good rainfall for the region which improved the region's immediate water security situation.
It resulted in a total combined storage increase from 37.9 per cent to 41 per cent after seven days of river extraction.
Since then council staff have been able to pump water from the river to restore the storage levels in the dams, while also meeting the daily water consumption levels of the community.
Mr Hawkins said it was a great outcome for the dams to reach a total combined storage capacity of 100 per cent, after the drought conditions of 2019.
However, he's urging community members to always be mindful of their water use, given water is a precious resource.
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