In article ,
Michael Percy wrote:
Phred wrote:

I might add that right at the moment a lot of the "wet" country is
actually drought stricken with dairy production down 30% and falling
and the usual "lush green pastures" would be a fire hazard if there
was any fuel left to burn! It's the driest year in over 80 years, or
even since local records began in many places around here.

It is a remarkable drought indeed you are having, Phred. With a record large
area hit by it, and at the same time with a record overall severity
http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/rainmaps.cgi

Somewhat ironically, the obligate irrigation farmers here aren't
feeling the pinch as yet (the local dam still has a 12-month supply)
but many of the "opportunists" in the wetter parts who have been
relying on streams and aquifers for their supplementary irrigation
have been banned from pumping until things improve.

Your 'local dam' would seem to be the ross river dam or burdekin.
http://www.nqwater.com.au/assets_ross.htm

Close, but not far enough north! :-)

Actually, "ours" is quite a small one (Tinaroo) but as its catchment
is largely in what we thought of as the "wet tropics", it's pretty
reliable. It was designed to see out three tobacco seasons in the
absence of any significant inflow. But Govt policy has killed off
tobacco and farmers have switched to sugarcane and various
horticultural tree crops in recent times, so it remains to be seen
just how reliable it will be under these substantially altered needs.

I see from a link at that BOM rainmaps site you mentioned that our
local area is one of 'Severe Deficiency' for the period Dec01-Oct02
(rainfalls in the lowest 5% of historical totals).
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/drought.shtml
(We've "only" been in 'Serious Deficiency' for the past 7 months.

Download the map at
ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/home/ncc/w...ur/latest2.gif
for a larger view of Oz drought status for the period 1Dec01-31Oct02.

Can't find an equivalent "official" link to yours for Tinaroo, but
this one has most of the general info about it anyway:
http://www.tinarooeec.qld.edu.au/Kids/tindam.html#top

I rather like this bit:
quoting
Flood Mitigation
Although not designed as a flood mitigation scheme, the flood storage
available in the dam at the start of the wet season can be a
significant factor in reducing flooding in the Barron Delta. This was
demonstrated during the cyclone of March 1967, when in one day 432
millimetres of flood rain fell in the dam catchment. The storage level
was low and no water was passed downstream for four days, considerably
reducing the flooding in the Delta during that critical period.
/quoting

Following the 1965/66 drought and a poor 1966/67 wet season, people
were becoming a bit concerned about supply. Then came the "March '67"
rain event which filled the thing virtually overnight and passed into
folklore hereabouts.


Cheers, Phred.

--
LID