THE water level at Chifley Dam has dropped by 20 per cent in a 12-month period, with no decent rainfall in sight.
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Bathurst Regional Council's latest reading, taken on March 12, found the dam to be at 47.9 per cent.
On the same date 12 months ago, the Western Advocate reported the level as 67.5 per cent.
The water quality is also significantly worse.
A red level blue green algae alert is currently in place, seeing the dam close for all recreational activities, while it was only an amber level alert last year.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology had forecast as much as 20 millimetres of rain for Bathurst, but by 5pm there hadn't been a single drop recorded.
The best chance for rain this week is Sunday, where the BoM has forecast up to 10mm.