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Low river levels won’t affect supply

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Denmark River recorded another below-average river flow this year despite the town receiving a regular amount of rainfall.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation said most South West rivers recorded a below average flows compared to the 1975-2016 period.

But Denmark Environment Centre consultant Simon Neville said it was best not to read too much into a single figure.

“River flow comes and goes but this is an increasingly common trend throughout the South West,” he said. “We will get individual years where it goes up and individual years where it goes down but that’s not as important in terms of the overall picture.

“If you do five-yearly average or 10-yearly average, you can see the average trend of rainfall is going down and this trend is critical because we can expect drier winters over time.”

Water Corporation Great Southern regional manager Adrian Stewart said even though Denmark River received a below average flow, it would not necessarily affect Denmark’s water supply.

“Denmark River provides a secondary drinking water source for the town through the Denmark River Dam, while Quickup Dam is the primary source for the town,” he said.

“There is sufficient capacity in Quickup to meet demand this summer, with supplementary water from the Denmark River Dam to be used if required.”

Quickup Dam water levels were recorded at two thirds below capacity in 2015.

To fulfil the town’s water supply, the Water Corporation transfers Denmark River Dam water to Quickup Dam via a 3.4km pipeline.

“While storage is sufficient for this summer, it is still important the Denmark community keeps up the good work to save water,” Mr Stewart said.

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