Copeton to pass inflows

13 February 2012

10 days after flooding peaked at Moree, low level water releases are now commencing from Copeton Dam to pass inflows entering the storage.

The water releases of up to 2,000 megalitres a day will be well below minor flood levels and are expected to continue for five to six days.

State Water Acting Manager of Water Delivery Craig Cahill said the dam management strategy is working well by capturing inflows from upstream and now steadily releasing water downstream after the peaks have passed.

“We were able to capture the inflows which entered the dam at a rate of up to 18,000 megalitres a day and hold them in the storage until the situation downstream had eased,” Mr Cahill said.

“Those inflows have now reduced to around 2,000 megalitres a day and with the situation easing downstream we can start passing inflows to maintain a small amount of airspace should inflows increase.

“In keeping with our operating procedure the storage will be full by the time water is required to meet downstream demand.”

The releases will remain within the channel capacity however downstream landholders are advised to be aware of the river levels.

The dam was last at 99 percent of capacity in 1998, and dropped as low as six percent in June 2010.

Copeton Dam has a permanent storage capacity of 1,364,000 megalitres.

Media contact: Jane Urquhart State Water (02) 6841 2087 or 0429 449 711