Welcome to Water Services
Water Services is part of Kempsey Shire Council. We operate and maintain the Kempsey Shire’s town water and sewerage services. Our customers are the residents and ratepayers of the shire.
We provide a platform for optimising operating efficiencies and enhancing our customer service levels. We aim to provide drinking water to the National Health & Medical Research Council standards to residences and businesses and collect, treat and manage the reclaimed water in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Weekly water update
Each week, Council will be providing the community with weekly water data through updates posted to council’s Facebook page every Tuesday as well as to Council’s website. There are four key figures that together are used to measure our water.
Note: The next readings posted will be on Tuesday 12 January 2021.
Average rainfall
Our water supply relies upon rainfall. As such the fall of rain in key catchment areas is a vital source of information for anticipating future water security.
| Dates (2020) | Rainfall (mm) |
|---|---|
| 14-20 December | 16.8 |
| 7-13 December | 6.1 |
| 1-6 December | 5.4 |
| 24-30 November | 0.2 |
| 17-23 November | 1.4 |
| 10-16 November | 1.1 |
| 3 - 9 November | 0.8 |
| 27 October - 2 November | 5.8 |
| 20 - 26 October | 4.2 |
| 13 - 19 October | 1.3 |
River flow
A large portion of our shire primarily draws its water through the Sherwood borefield, which is reliant upon a strong river flow for supply.
| Date (2020) | Flow (ML/day) |
|---|---|
| 20 December | 13,328 |
| 13 December | 562 |
| 6 December | 148 |
| 30 November | 215 |
| 23 November | 166 |
| 16 November | 387 |
| 9 November | 664 |
| 2 November | 2225 |
| 26 October | 220 |
| 19 October | 218 |
Average daily water usage
Another vital metric used to decide when water restrictions are required is the average daily water usage by our community.
| Dates (2020) | Average usage (ML/day) |
|---|---|
| 14-20 December | 5.9 |
| 7-13 December | 6.73 |
| 1-6 December | 7.1 |
| 24-30 November | 7.6 |
| 17-23 November | 6.97 |
| 10-16 November | 6.46 |
| 3 - 9 November | 6.10 |
| 27 October - 2 November | 6.00 |
| 20 - 26 October | 6.33 |
| 13 - 19 October | 7.46 |
Steuart McIntyre Dam level
While many assume that the dam level is the key indicator for water restrictions, our dam is intended to be our last reserve. Ideally our water usage comes directly through the borefields and leaves our dam levels untouched. As such it is already a sign of water shortage if the dam is providing water for daily use.
| Date (2020) | Level (%) |
|---|---|
| 20 December | 97.30 |
| 13 December | 95.94 |
| 6 December | 95.59 |
| 30 November | 95.61 |
| 23 November | 95.92 |
| 16 November | 95.92 |
| 9 November | 95.94 |
| 2 November | 96.03 |
| 26 October | 95.67 |
| 19 October | 95.46 |
If you would like to receive regular updates on Kempsey’s water situation, please like the Council’s Facebook page.
More information
To find out more about river levels and rainfall data visit:
- Mid North Coast Rainfall and River Conditions (BoM)
- Macleay MHL Flood and Coastal Intelligence Tool (MHLFIT)
Customer Consultative Committee
Water Services has established a Customer Consultative Committee with a view to obtaining customer input into the planning and decision-making process. Membership is drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds including the residential, social, business and rural sectors. This will help us respond better to the changing needs and concerns of our customers.
