Darwin River Dam at 87 per cent capacity

Darwin’s main water source could fall short of reaching 100 per cent capacity for the first wet season since 2020-21, after the Northern Territory capital recorded its latest ever monsoon onset on February 7. Read the details.

Darwin’s main water catchment could fall short of reaching 100 per cent capacity for the first wet season since 2020-21.

Darwin’s main water source could fall short of reaching 100 per cent capacity for the first wet season since 2020-21, after the Northern Territory capital recorded its latest ever monsoon onset on February 7.

The last time the Darwin River Dam, which is said to supply about 85 per cent of the Darwin region’s water, failed to reach 100 per cent capacity at any point during the wet season was in the 2020-21 season and before that in the 2019-20 season, according to statistics on the Power and Water website.

As of March 12, the dam’s capacity sits at about 87.81 per cent — but on this day in 2022, 2023 and 2024, it was, or at least a percentage or two away from, 100 per cent.

Darwin’s main water catchment could fall short of reaching 100 per cent capacity for the first wet season since 2020-21. Picture: Power and Water

This comes after the Top End recorded its latest ever monsoon onset on February 7, 2025, surpassing the previous record of January 25 in 1973, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

A spokesman for the Bureau said while some areas of the Top End had received average or above average rainfall throughout the wet season, others — such as the Darwin River Dam, for example — were less fortunate.

“The total rainfall at the Darwin Airport was basically tracking about average until recently where it’s started to dip below average”, he said.

“In terms of Darwin River Dam, we saw around 345mm of rainfall in February, which a little bit more than average for the month of February.

“But if you compare it to the whole wet season, it’s a different story; we’ve seen is basically below average rainfall for the Darwin River Dam as well as other locations in the NT.”

Darwin’s main water catchment could fall short of reaching 100 per cent capacity for the first wet season since 2020-21. Picture: Supplied

A spokeswoman for the Power and Water Corporation said they “encouraged Territorians to reduce their water use year-round” and would continue to work with the Australian and Territory government to ensure “long-term sustainability” for the NT.

PWC also revealed it was more than 50 per cent completed with it’s multimillion-dollar pump station project, which is aimed at enhancing the reliability and security of water supply to the greater Darwin region.

The $25.24 million contract to design and construct the pump station was awarded to McMahon Services Pty Ltd in 2022, and is said to be “hydraulically and economically more efficient during seasonal changes and allow the existing pump station to be taken offline for major mechanical refurbishment works”.

Originally published as Darwin River Dam at 87 per cent capacity