Water restrictions are easing, here’s what you need to know

A wet summer has meant dams are filling back up, bringing an end to almost two years of water saving measures.

The Shannon Creek Dam is the centrepiece of the $180m Regional Water Supply Scheme that Council completed with our partners Clarence Valley Council to ensure a reliable water supply for the future.

Water restrictions will ease from Wednesday as the Karangi Dam hits 99 per cent full.

For the first time since December 2019 Level 1 water restrictions will no longer apply, with recent heavy rains contributing to the region’s dams filling back up.

The 30,000 megalitre Shannon Creek Dam, located west of Coutts Crossing, is currently at 84 per cent and rising. The much smaller Karangi dam is at 99 per cent capacity.

The dam is the primary drinking water storage facility for the Regional Water Supply Scheme servicing Coffs Harbour and the Clarence Valley.

Coffs Harbour City Council’s director of sustainable infrastructure, Mick Raby, said floods in the drought and bushfire affected catchments of the Nymboida river, our primary water source, caused ongoing water quality issues.

Karangi Dam forms part of the regional water supply along with the Shannon Creek Dam. Photo: Trevor Veale / The Coffs Coast Advocate

That, combined with water intake infrastructure issues, meant millions of litres of water had to be released from the dam to maintain the health of the catchment waterways to meet licencing requirements.

“The river water intake infrastructure is now operating as normal, environmental releases are completed and river water quality issues have also eased,” Mr Raby said.

“As a result, recent extraction from the Nymboida River into Shannon Creek Dam has been increased to around 50 megalitres per day, which has seen the level of the water in the Dam rise to around 84 per cent.”

The changes will mean the LGA reverts back to permanent water conservation measures which were introduced in 2004.

Coffs Harbour Mayor Councillor Denise Knight thanked residents and businesses who did their bit to conserve our water supplies.

“Thank you to everyone who helped the community by sticking with the Level 1 Water Restrictions all this time,” she said.

“While we’re returning to the usual Permanent Water Conservation Measures, I’d urge everyone to please continue the water-saving habits they adopted during the Level 1 Restrictions.”