A small town in northern NSW that is in severe drought and has been battling bushfires has struck it lucky with the discovery of underground water.
Water began pouring from the bores* only 126 days before Tenterfield’s storages were due to run dry.
Tenterfield’s local dam was at about 15 per cent of capacity when bore drilling last week discovered two sources of underground water that are now flowing at about 13 litres a second.
The town, which has a population of about 4000 and is three hours west of Byron Bay, NSW, was ravaged by bushfires earlier this month.
Despite the new sources of water, the shire council will continue to enforce water restrictions until the water from bores has been set up to fill its dam.
Peter Petty, Mayor of Tenterfield Shire Council, said he was now “shouting wide and far the message that we’re open for business.”
“It is with much pleasure as Mayor of this wonderful shire that I’m able to say to the world that we have found water in Tenterfield.”
“Council started the process of planning for this moment well before Christmas 2018. We’ve been through many, many challenges and even more frustrations along the way, but we got there,” Mr Petty said.
Terry Dodds, Chief Executive of Tenterfield Shire Council, said the discovery was “fantastic news for our community, our economy*, and visitors alike.”
“During testing we’ve seen 13 litres per second flow from a bore behind the Transport Museum. Initial* observations show that the production rate will be about 10 litres (per) second. Best of all the source isn’t far from the dam where it will be pumped,” he said.
Mr Dodds told the ABC the town had calculated it had 126 days of water left in its storages when it discovered the bores.
GLOSSARY
- bores: holes drilled into the ground to find underground water
- economy: money moving around a community being earned and spent
- initial: first
EXTRA READING
Drought leaves firefighters without water
Australia’s critical water shortage
Dam levels drop as Australia’s big dry drags on
If you feel like complaining, think of Precious
QUICK QUIZ
- Where is Tenterfield?
- What two natural disasters is Tenterfield coping with?
- Who is Tenterfield’s mayor?
- Who is Terry?
- How many days of water did the town have left before the bores started producing water?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Write a water-saving plan
What can we all do to conserve, or save, water? Think about all of the things you do on a normal day and things that you can do to use less water. Use your ideas to write a Water Saving Plan that you could use every day.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Geography
2. Extension
We’ve been through many, many challenges and even more frustrations along the way, but we got there.”
What can we all learn from today’s story? Be inspired by this quote and create something that will help other kids to learn why this is a good way to think. You can write a story, make an artwork, create a poster or design, a song … anything you want
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Media Arts, Visual Arts, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social Capability
VCOP ACTIVITY
The glossary of terms helps you to understand and learn the ambitious vocabulary being used in the article. Can you use the words outlined in the glossary to create new sentences? Challenge yourself to include other VCOP (vocabulary, connectives, openers and punctuation) elements in your sentence/s. Have another look through the article, can you find any other Wow Words not outlined in the glossary?
HAVE YOUR SAY: Are there water restrictions or a water shortage where you live? What do you do to conserve water wherever you live?
No one-word answers. Use full sentences to explain your thinking. No comments will be published until approved by editors.
