Keepit and Copeton on watch as rain event looms

29 November 2011

Having eased the severity of flooding in the Gwydir and Namoi valleys, State Water’s flood operations team are monitoring weather forecasts and storage levels at Keepit and Copeton dams.

Releases from Keepit Dam in the lead up to the weekend deluge lowered the storage from 99% of capacity to 93%, creating 28,000 megalitres (ML) of airspace, allowing the dam to effectively cut the flood’s intensity in half.

The dam received inflows which peaked at a rate of 80,000 megalitres per day (ML/day) but outflows were restricted to a peak of 45,000ML/day.

At Copeton Dam storage levels rose from 55% of capacity last Wednesday (23 November) to 77% by Monday (28 November).

The lower storage level meant Copeton absorbed approximately 295,000ML – or a year’s supply of water – without the need to make any major releases.

State Water’s Manager Water Delivery, Dan Berry said the corporation’s flood operations team and dam staff remain vigilant, with more rain predicted later this week.

“Even though these flood events occurred largely downstream of Keepit and Copeton, sound management of our dams played a major role in easing the severity of the flooding currently swamping the region,” he said.

“Without these dams the floods would have peaked much higher, causing greater damage and impacting more severely on those communities in the flood’s path.

“The upside is that the water secured in Copeton Dam provides guaranteed water security for up to three years and will bring great economic and environmental benefit to the Gwydir valley and beyond into the future.”

For information about storage levels and river heights go to the Waterinfo website

at www.waterinfo.nsw.gov.au. For flood information visit the SES website www.ses.nsw.gov.au. For weather forecasts visit the Bureau of Meteorology website www.bom.gov.au.

-ENDS-

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