DROUGHT NOT OVER: Tourist park owner remains optimistic

‘I haven’t seen it flowing like that for years, just years’: Leslie Dam records give positive outlook for the year.

RISING TIDES: Adam and Roman Bennett eager to see the impact of the rain on Leslie Dam.

CURIOSITY filled the minds of many Warwick residents this morning as they woke to further positive news about Leslie Dam.

Rising water levels brought locals down to the dam beds to inspect the renewed life in and out of the water, according to Lake Leslie Tourist Park owner Adam Bennett.

“After a good downpour it is always good to get out and go for a fish, the fish are usually on the bite but fishing is fishing sometimes they are sometimes they’re not,” Mr Bennett said.

“It’s not just the guys that are fishing, the cars that are coming down to inspect are the ones that just want to see what is going on, just to see that little bit of extra water in the dam that we didn’t have previously.

“There’s been a lot of traffic over the last couple of days which is fantastic and the interest is really good.”

Now sitting at 7.32 per cent, the dam received 64mm of rain in the last 24 hours almost doubling previous totals with the rate continuing to rise Mr Bennett said.

“It really depends on what is happening out at Rocklands, we’re going to whiz out there and see what the information says but possibly not, it’s coming up slower than we thought,” he said.

“But I haven’t seen it flowing from this side like that for years, just years.

“Normally it’s out the back where the catchment area is and stuff but mother nature, she just sat on top of us yesterday and just dumped and it was just brilliant.”

Wildlife enjoying fresh water at Leslie Dam.

Traditionally a busy time of the for Lake Leslie Tourist Park, Mr Bennett who owns the park with wife Caroline, are yet to experience their usual summer rush.

“Normally all long weekends are a busier time for us but it’s just been dead, everyone’s dead, every business is dead,” he said.

“It was the worst Christmas and New Years that we’ve had ever, since we’ve been here with the attendance.

“I think still with the drought and the fires that we’ve just had, that little bit of rain that we’ve had isn’t going to make things click and make people go for it, we’re expecting a few people in for the Australia Day but nothing like it used to be.”

Despite the increased attention and rising water rates, Mr Bennett knows there is still a long road ahead to overcoming the drought.

“We haven’t broken the drought, this is just a start for what could possibly happen,” he said.

“Hopefully if the water restrictions remain in place and no one does anything stupid with their water we should have some water for a while.

“It’s not time to run out and start washing cars and all that, lets look after the water and make sure we get the dam back to 90 per cent and then we can play a bit.”

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