Malpas Dam's reading of being more than half-full on the weekend did not go unnoticed. Some were keen to ask when water restrictions would be eased, and the short answer was, as soon as possible, but it is really too early to tell.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The latest reading shows Malpas to be 50.3 per cent full.
Mayor Simon Murray said in his view, council needed to see a firm climatic outlook that welcomed the return of normal to above normal conditions before dropping restrictions to any great degree.
RELATED READING:
"Past data demonstrates that it takes quite a long time for Malpas Dam to fill right up," he said.
"While it's at slightly over 50 per cent now, if we were to go into a dry period from now on, we could be very quickly back to where we were a month ago.
"The days of just using the dam level as an indicator of where we should be as far as water restrictions, I think are over. It has to be a multi-pronged approach. It has to be looking at the level, current consumption and what the season outlook is, and then make plans around those."
He said community input, in this case, should not be where the major decision making process originated because council staff studied these issues daily and were planning around them.
"I'm not a water engineer, that's why we've got the staff," he said.
"And that's why councillors should be listening to the advice given to them by staff who are trained in the area.
"We should be primarily making decisions on staff advice because we have expertise in those we employ."
Cr Murray said he was conscious of being responsible to the community.
"However, we are also the leaders of the community and often as the leader of the community you don't respond to all the keyboard warriors," he said.
"We have to be looking at what is best for the wider community in the longer-term, not just the short-term."
Click here and you can subscribe to everything the Armidale Express has to offer.
