![The boardwalk near the Horsham weir has been flooded. Picture: ALEX DARLING The boardwalk near the Horsham weir has been flooded. Picture: ALEX DARLING](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/richard.crabtree/46524eb8-5d0c-4c77-a33c-2181a3bb42cf.jpg/r0_0_2048_1374_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
RECENT rain contributed to the biggest weekly increase in water levels in years - but GWMWater says storage levels are still below average.
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After significant rain across the region last week, GWM reported an extra 19,560 megalitres into reservoirs - more than the total amount of water in Lake Fyans or Lake Wartook.
GWMWater's water resources and storage manager Kym Wilson said it was a much-needed boost.
"It equates to about a three-and-a-half per cent increase. The last time we saw that amount in a week was in October 2016, which was a very wet period," he said.
"It has certainly improved our position - but prior to the last seven days, reservoir inflows were tracking well below average for this time of year.
"So it's helped in bouncing back, but in saying that, we still haven't caught up to where we were at this time last year in storage."
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The accumulative total in GWM's seven reservoirs is at 39.69 per cent, while it sat at 44.33 per cent this time last year.
"We've still got plenty of space," Mr Wilson said.
"We've seen the majority of water flow into storages. The catchments will run off a bit longer, so things will increase slowly for a bit longer.
"There's a lot of people that see the rain and think everything is good - but what we see is, you might have good rainfall and a good year for the Ag industry, but we can still have a below-average amount going into storage."
Mr Wilson said the weather pattern La Nina could contribute to more significant increases in the coming months.
"It definitely increases the likelihood of these events, which we normally don't see," he said.
"In most years, from October, the catchments dry out, and we don't see any more water flowing into the reservoirs.
"If we get some reasonable rainfall forecast soon, that might keep things ticking over."
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