January 17, 2010
Sugarloaf Reservoir: Then and Now
The long dry is sapping Melbourne’s dams and raising questions about the viability of the city’s water supply. … Since the network of dams was built several decades ago, Melbourne has never had less drinking water. The record low-water mark was broken in mid-April, when storages reached 28.3 per cent of capacity. With consumption outstripping inflows, a lower record has been set every few days since then, and yesterday the city’s storages were at 26.8 per cent. … Melbourne’s dams, such as Sugarloaf, now resemble bare canyons.
Running on empty: dams dry up 2005 2007 2008 2009