THE recent dry weather has had little to do with a drop in the level of Capalaba's Leslie Harrison Dam.
Seqwater, which manages the dam for the state government, opened one of the dam's four gates to let water out on June 10. Dam operator Mick O'Hanlon deftly raised the massive gate 75mm before 1cubic metre of water a second rushed out into the creek, which is west of Capalaba Regional Park.
It was expected the dam gate would be opened for two months to drain the level from 75 per cent or 18,000 megalitres to about 50 per cent or about 13,500 megalitres.
Six weeks later, the level of the 24,868 megalitre dam had dropped to 14,802 megalitres or 59.5 per cent capacity.
The slow releases will continue until the water level reaches about half of the dam's capacity.
This will allow Seqwater officers to assess the integrity of the dam wall.
It is likely the dam will remain at half level for at least the next three years.