Community & Business

25 May, 2022

Unseasonal rainfall boosts Tinaroo Dam

HIGHER than expected rainfall for May has boosted the level of Tinaroo Falls Dam which is nearly over the spillway at 97.43 per cent.

Rainfall around Atherton and Walkamin have both well exceeded last year’s May total, with 90mm falling this month so far in Atherton compared to just 34mm in May 2021, while Walkamin has had 88.6mm compared to just 17.9mm for the same month last year. 

The May total brings the year-to-date rainfall for Atherton to 814mm. Mareeba has also had expected rainfall for May, with 60mm falling so far this month compared to just 5.8mm in May 2021. Year to date, Mareeba has had just over 619mm. Tinaroo Falls Dam, which was built in 1958, has a storage capacity of 438,000 megalitres.

Its highest level of 119.5 per cent was in February 1999, while its lowest ever level was recorded in December 2003 at just 23.5 per cent.

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