Heavy rainfalls dating back to last Christmas have pushed water levels at Lake Burrendong to measurements not seen since about 2000.
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State Water yesterday reported the lake to be at 81 per cent of its effective full storage capacity.
As another rain system made its way through the region yesterday, Lake Burrendong State Park manager Jason Kirk said it would only take another two or three inches of rain to push the dam to 100 per cent.
“We are ecstatic with all of
the water in the area and every
day it seems to be going up,” he said.
“At our lowest point we got to about 1.5 per cent which is still a lot of water for a lake which is bigger than Sydney Harbour but it wasn’t good.
“Now we are at 81 per cent and rising, and the whole region is wet which means a lot of that will run into our system.
“Another two or three inches of rain and the associated run-off from that would probably push us close to 100 per cent.”
Mr Kirk said the last two or three weeks had been extremely busy with skiers and fisherman making the most of the rising water levels.
He said accommodation at the park was fully booked and things were looking positive.
“When I arrived at Burrendong about five months ago the lake was at 15 or 16 per cent capacity,” he said.
“We have had a lot of people coming out in the past few weeks and with more rain and summer coming we expect to stay busy.”
The park has been forced to implement a new gate system in recent times to allow users an easy exit.
Mr Kirk said the old system of paying for a token on the way out had been replaced by a coin-operated gate on the outside of the park.
“What we found was people were coming down late in the afternoon and were looking to leave after the kiosk and office had shut,” he said.
“Now, people will pay their $8 on the way in and the gate will automatically open for them on the way out.”
At Mookerawa Waters Caravan Park and Camping Ground, located at the back end of Burrendong, the story is very similar.
Manager Peter Cox yesterday said the difference between last Christmas and the expected measurements this festive season were amazing.
“I’m pretty confident we will be at 100 per cent by Christmas,” he said.
“I have a rain chart at home that shows a pattern of a dumping of rain every 12 years.
“We have people coming out now just to have a look at the water and we are expecting a really big summer.”
In Dubbo yesterday, 6.8mm of rain had fallen up until 8.30pm, according to Elders Weather.
However the falls are predicted to stop today with the sun popping out for the weekend.
