Average rains yield nine weeks' water

Rainfall for the first half of May is keeping up to average, according to figures provided by Woy Woy resident Mr Jim Morrison.

A total of 65.8mm fell in the first two weeks of May, more than half the monthly average of 122.3mm.

Rainfall of 62.2mm on the night of Wednesday, May 9, on the Peninsula was enough to fill a rainwater tank of more than 9000 litres on an average house, according to the Central Coast branch of the Australian Conservation Foundation.

ACF Central Coast branch president Mr Mark Snell said that, depending on the number of people living in the house and their water use habits, this could be almost nine weeks' water supply to the household.

Mr Snell said that, in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday, May 10, 9330 litres would have been captured from a roof area of 150 square metres.

Mr Snell said that, with wise water use, a person's water consumption was around 150 litres a day.

The rainfall was therefore enough to last one person 62 days (almost nine weeks) or two people about a month.

Mr Morrison said that an analysis of the rainfall pattern this year showed that 1mm or more of rain fell on an average of nine days a month up to the end of April.

So far in May, only two days recorded rainfall of more than 1mm.

Rainfall spreadsheet, 11 May 2007 Jim Morrison, Woy Woy Press release, 10 May 2007 Mark Snell, ACF Central Coast