'The weather gods are smiling': How drought-ravaged dams are nearly FULL after record-breaking downpour - and rivers reduced to a 'trickle' are flowing for the first time in years
- Dams throughout Australia's east coast are filling as soaking rains continue
- Six dams in southeast Queensland have filled to capacity in the last week
- Warragamba Dam west of Sydney is receiving best water inflows since 2017
Farmers and rural townships along Australia's east coast are rejoicing as dams fill to capacity.
Six dams and weirs in southeast Queensland are officially over capacity after significant rains in the region over the past week.
Parched dams around the Sydney area are also swelling to their highest levels in years as heavy rainfall continues to drench eastern NSW.
Farmers and rural townships along Australia's east coast are rejoicing as dams fill to capacity after soaking rains (pictured is Poona Dam in southeast Queensland)
Warragamba Dam west of Sydney is forecast to receive its best inflows since April 2017 (pictured is water overflows near to Parramatta River after heavy rains in Sydney)
A radar image of rain across the Sydney area on Saturday that has caused flooding and raised dam water levels
Government water supplier WaterNSW says Warragamba Dam west of Sydney is forecast to receive its best inflows since April 2017.
Warragamba Dam, the primary source of water for urban Sydney, was sitting near 44 per cent of capacity on Sunday afternoon and was predicted to rise to 55 per cent.
The increase was equal to recouping nine months of water supply in less than a week, WaterNSW said.
While water catchments in eastern parts of the state have received a boost, other drought-stricken inland areas have not been so lucky.
The Burrendong Dam, which serves major regional areas in western NSW such as Dubbo, was at just one per cent capacity on Sunday, according to WaterNSW.
Ash and debris left after the recent bushfire crisis are likely to wash into the Warragamba catchment but will not impact water quality.
A boom floats across a small bay near the dam wall at Warragamba Dam in Warragamba, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020
Drenching rains in Sydney have caused flooding (pictured is the Parramatta River)
'Any surface debris is being avoided by extracting water from 30 metres below the surface as a precaution,' a WaterNSW spokesman said.
Two booms - also known as silt curtains - have been placed upstream of the dam to catch silt before it reaches the dam itself.
Other dams serving the metropolitan Sydney area, including the Nepean, Cataract, Avon and Woronora dams, have all recieved a welcome top up, WaterNSW added.
The Tallowa Dam in the Shoalhaven area has also started to fill.
The six dams and weirs in Queensland that are at capacity are some of the region's smallest but they provide plenty of optimism for the region.
Four of the dams are either located in or supply a drought-declared local government area: Leslie Harrison Dam, Litter Nerang Dam, Six Mile Creek and Wappa Dam.
The overflowing Leslie Harrison Dam, which supplies Redland City south of Brisbane, was recorded at 76 per cent capacity on Friday.
A flooding marker can be see almost submerged on the edge of the Parramatta River
Rains flooding the area near the Parramatta River in outer Sydney
The region's two largest dams, Wivenhoe and Sommerset, both had increases of about one per cent over the weekend.
The overall dam level in southeast Queensland has increased by nearly one per cent after heavy rain over the weekend.
Southeast Queensland's water grid total sits at 57.2 per cent following the weekend downpour.
The main drinking supply for the Gold Coast, Hinze Dam has reached 88.7 per cent capacity from 86.3 per cent before the weekend.
The southern Queensland town of Warwick has had two years worth of drinking water flow into its dam.
Leslie Dam, which supplies water to Warwick and surrounding communities, nearly doubled its capacity overnight.
At 4pm on Saturday SunWater recorded the dam's level at 7.66 per cent.
By 10.30am on Sunday it had risen to 12.64 per cent.
Mayor of the Southern Downs, Tracy Dobie, told AAP as much as two years worth of drinking water had flowed into Leslie Dam.
'We have had almost as much rain in January and February as we had in all of 2019,' Ms Dobie said.
The community of Stanthorpe near the border with NSW also received much needed rain.
The community officially ran out of drinking water in January, needing to truck water from Connolly dam 60km to the town's north.
Ms Dobie told AAP Connelly dam received good rain, but the town's main supply, Storm King Dam, did not receive enough to halt water trucking.
'We got one month of water into Storm King Dam, but we are looking at needing six months worth of rain to stop the trucking,' she said.
Leslie Harrison Dam in southeast Queensland is now spilling excess water and outflows have increased
