Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Australian wildfires threaten Sydney water supplies

1406259
1406259
minus
plus

SYDNEY: Australian authorities said on Friday they are focused on protecting water plants, pumping stations, pipes and other infrastructure from intense bushfires surrounding Sydney, the country’s largest city.


Firefighters battling the blazes for weeks received a reprieve of slightly cooler, damper conditions over Christmas, but the respite is not expected to last long.


Temperatures in New South Wales (NSW) state are forecast to head back towards 40 degrees Celsius early next week, fuelling fires near Warragamba Dam, which provides water to about 80 per cent of Sydney’s 5 million residents.


“In recent days up to the cool change, the fires had been a potential threat to supply and assets, particularly in Warragamba and in the Blue Mountains,” a spokesman for the state’s water authority, WaterNSW, said.


“With the coming very hot conditions the fire situation may escalate in both those fronts and possibly elsewhere.”


Warragamba Dam is located 65 km west of Sydney, catching water flowing from the mountains. It is at 44.8 per cent capacity, down from almost being full less than three years ago, as a prolonged drought ravages the continent’s east.


Despite the widespread destruction, the state’s water infrastructure network has not been damaged, the spokesman said.— Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon