River Murray Operations Weekly Report 26Th November 2014

RIVER MURRAY WEEKLY REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING WEDNESDAY, 26 NOVEMBER 2018

Trim Ref: D14/51631 Rainfall and Inflows Very hot weather affected most of the Murray-Darling Basin during the last week with maximum temperatures at some locations peaking close to or above record levels for the final month of spring. Conditions stayed mostly dry across the Basin until a trough system arrived during the second half of the week. The trough brought rain and storms focussed mainly over the southern Basin and cooler temperatures in its wake. Similar rainfall totals to the previous week were recorded across the Basin’s south-east, with worthwhile totals in excess of 15 mm stretching further west across a large swathe of southern NSW (Map 1). The highest weekly rainfall totals in Victoria included 50 mm at Rocky Valley, 45 mm at Granite Flat and 44 mm at Yackandandah. There were totals up to about 50 mm over the NSW Snowy Mountains, while elsewhere in the State’s south, there was 36 mm at Tocumwal, 35 mm at Wagga and 30 mm at Deniliquin. In western NSW, 22 mm fell at both Wentworth and Pooncarie; while totals across Queensland’s Darling Downs included 34 mm at The Head and 27 mm at Killarney.

Map 1 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall for the week ending 26th November 2014 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology). Stream flows along the upper system tributaries responded quickly following the rain with levels at some gauges climbing briefly to their highest level since mid-October. However, rapid recessions mean that inflow volumes from the rain will be relatively small. For example, on the upper Mitta Mitta River, the flow at Hinnomunjie Bridge increased from just under 300 to 850 ML/day before falling to 500 ML/day. On the Ovens River, the flow at Rocky Point jumped from about 500 to 1,550 ML/day but has since receded to below 700 ML/day.

GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 02 6279 0100 Facsimile: 02 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mdba.gov.au ABN 13679821382Page 1 of 7 River Operations

 Rainfall along the mid-Murray drops irrigation demand. Further significant rain forecast for the coming week.

 Longer-term outlook indicates warm and dry conditions.

Thunderstorm activity towards the end of the week generated heavy bursts of rainfall across the mid- Murray, stimulating a short rise in river levels and a drop in irrigation demand. Follow-up rain forecast over the coming week has the potential to generate reasonable inflows if falls in the higher end of the forecast range eventuate. Despite the recent rain, inflows to the Murray system for November continue to track well below the long-term average (see graph on page six of this report). Whilst El Niño thresholds have not been fully met, El Niño-like impacts have been observed in recent months across eastern Australia with generally above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall. The latest climate outlook from the Bureau of Meteorology indicates that drier conditions are likely to persist across much of south-east Australia for the next three months (December-February). Transfers of water downstream to Lake Victoria remain ongoing to keep the storage as high as possible leading into the summer months. MDBA total storage decreased by 105 GL this week, with the active storage now 5,752 GL (68% capacity). At Dartmouth Reservoir, the storage volume decreased 40 GL to 3,418 GL (89% capacity). The release is steady at 7,000 ML/day as water is transferred downstream to Hume Reservoir. Storage at Hume Reservoir decreased 40 GL this week to 1,969 GL (66% capacity). Releases from Hume are around 13,500 ML/day and likely to remain close to this rate over the next few days as operators monitor the upcoming rainfall event. At Yarrawonga Weir, diversions to the major irrigation off-takes eased from 4,200 ML/day to 3,400 ML/day at Mulwala Canal and 1,300 ML/day to 700 ML/day at Yarrawonga Main Channel. The reduction in irrigation orders combined with heavy local rainfall resulted in the weir pool swiftly rising to 124.83 m AHD. The release from Yarrawonga Weir is planned to temporarily increase from 10,300 ML/day to 12,000 ML/day next week in order to bring the weir pool down prior to further forecast rain. Several of the regulators within Barmah-Millewa Forest will be opened in response to the higher flows. On the Edward River system, the combined flow through the Edward and Gulpa offtakes is steady at 1,900 ML/day. Diversions to the Wakool Main Canal are currently 600 ML/day. The flow downstream of Stevens Weir is steady at 2,650 ML/day with the addition of water from the Edward escape. On the Goulburn River, the second of two spring pulses released from Lake Eildon has entered the Murray. The flow at McCoys Bridge peaked at 6,350 ML/day, and is now 5,000 ML/day and receding. Water levels along the Murray will fluctuate noticeably as the pulse moves downstream (see attached flow advice). At Torrumbarry Weir, the diversion to National Channel is 2,100 ML/day. The flow in the Murray downstream of Torrumbarry is currently at a peak of 12,350 ML/day as the pulse from the Goulburn passes. Further downstream, the flow at Swan Hill is currently 9,950 ML/day (Figure 1), and forecast to peak just over 12,000 ML/day in coming days. Inflow entering the Murray from the Murrumbidgee River at Balranald is around 1,700 ML/day which is primarily Inter-Valley Trade water en-route to Lake Victoria. On the Murray at Euston, the weir pool is 18 cm above the Full Supply Level of 47.6 m AHD and the downstream release is 9,600 ML/day and rising. At Menindee Lakes, the storage volume has decreased 12 GL to 234 GL (14% capacity). For further information about management of the Menindee Lakes and the lower Darling, please see the latest community information communique issued by NSW Office of Water.

GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 02 6279 0100 Facsimile: 02 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mdba.gov.au ABN 13679821382 Page 2 of 7 Figure 2 – The Murray at Swan Hill during the week with a flow of 9,950 ML/day (source: Adam McLean, MDBA)

At Wentworth Weir, the release has been steady at 9,100 ML/day but is expected to rise over the coming week to just over 10,000 ML/day. Lock 9 is being held at around 20 cm above FSL (27.4 m AHD), whilst the Lock 8 weir pool is targeting 40 cm above FSL (24.6 m AHD). Both Lock 9 and 8 are planned to return to FSL in December as per the NSW Office of Water weir pool variation trial. At Lake Victoria, the storage volume decreased 14 GL to 559 GL (83% capacity). The flow to South Australia has been targeting 10,000 ML/day over the past week, which has incorporated entitlement flows together with environmental water from the Goulburn River, Campaspe River, Broken Creek and return flows from Hattah Lakes. The flow to South Australia will be reduced in the coming week to 9,750 ML/day as the volume of environmental water to be delivered reduces. The flow over Lock 1 averaged 8,800 ML/day this week and, at the Lower Lakes, the five-day average water level in Lake Alexandrina is 0.69 m AHD. The barrage releases continue to target 2,000 ML/day.

For media inquiries contact the Media Officer on 02 6279 0141

DAVID DREVERMAN Executive Director, River Management

GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 02 6279 0100 Facsimile: 02 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mdba.gov.au ABN 13679821382 Page 3 of 7 Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 26 Nov 2014 Change in Full Current Total Full Supply Dead Active MDBA Storages Supply Storage Current Storage Storage Volume Storage Storage Level Level for the Week (m AHD) (GL) (m AHD) (GL) % (GL) (GL) (GL) Dartmouth Reservoir 486.00 3 856 479.07 3 418 89% 71 3 347 -40 Hume Reservoir 192.00 3 005 186.20 1 969 66% 23 1 946 -40 Lake Victoria 27.00 677 26.01 559 83% 100 459 -14 Menindee Lakes 1 731* 234 14% (- -) # 0 -12 Total 9 269 6 180 67% - - 5 752 -105 Total Active MDBA Storage 68% ^

Major State Storages Burrinjuck Reservoir 1 026 747 73% 3 744 -17 Blowering Reservoir 1 631 742 45% 24 718 -57 Eildon Reservoir 3 334 2 682 80% 100 2 582 -23 * Menindee surcharge capacity – 2050 GL ** All Data is rounded to nearest GL ** # NSW takes control of Menindee Lakes when storage falls below 480 GL, and control reverts to MDBA when storage next reaches 640 GL ^ % of total active MDBA storage Snowy Mountains Scheme Snowy diversions for week ending 25 Nov 2014 Active Storage Weekly Change From 1 May Storage Diversion (GL) This Week (GL) (GL) 2014 Lake Eucumbene - Total 2 229 n/a Snowy-Murray +0 202 Snowy-Murray Component 1 045 n/a Tooma-Tumut +4 177 Target Storage 1 450 Net Diversion -4 25 Murray 1 Release +4 419 Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) * From 1 July From 1 New South Wales This Week Victoria This Week 2014 July 2014 Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) 15.5 356 Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) 8.1 119 Wakool Sys Allowance 0.0 24 Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) 11.2 315 Western Murray Irrigation 0.7 8 Sunraysia Pumped Districts 3.6 37 Licensed Pumps 6.9 104 Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) 8.7 19 Lower Darling 2.0 24 Licensed pumps - LMW 10.5 154 TOTAL 25.1 516 TOTAL 42.1 644

* Figures derived from estimates and monthly data. Please note that not all data may have been available at the time of creating this report. ** All data above is rounded to nearest 100 ML for weekly data and nearest GL for cumulative data**

Flow to South Australia (GL) Entitlement this month 180.0 * * Flow to SA will be greater than normal entitlement Flow this week 70.4 (10 100 ML/day) for this month due to the delivery of additional Flow so far this month 260.1 environmental water. Flow last month 277.0 Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C) Current Average over the last week Average since 1 August 2014 Swan Hill 110 70 90 Euston - 80 110 Red Cliffs 120 120 130 Merbein 120 110 130 Burtundy (Darling) 890 640 790 Lock 9 120 120 140 Lake Victoria 220 210 200 Berri 200 210 220 Waikerie 330 330 290 Morgan 350 320 280 Mannum 340 350 330 Murray Bridge 350 340 380 Milang (Lake Alex.) 720 720 740 Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) 520 510 570 Meningie (Lake Alb.) 2 370 2 380 2 300 GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 02 6279 0100 Facsimile: 02 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mdba.gov.au ABN 13679821382 Page 4 of 7 Goolwa Barrages 970 960 1 150 River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 26 Nov 2014 Average Minor Flood Average Flow Gauge Height Flow Trend Flow last Stage this Week Week River Murray (m) local (m) (m AHD) (ML/day) (ML/day) (ML/day) Khancoban - - - 1 370 R 880 1 210 Jingellic 4.0 1.51 208.03 3 170 R 2 550 2 170 Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) 4.2 3.01 219.90 7 250 F 7 230 4 850 Heywoods 5.5 2.90 156.53 13 780 F 14 640 14 260 Doctors Point 5.5 2.97 151.44 14 300 F 15 190 14 370 Albury 4.3 1.98 149.42 - - - - Corowa 3.8 3.35 129.37 16 390 F 14 640 15 740 Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) 6.4 1.68 116.72 10 240 R 10 210 10 100 Tocumwal 6.4 2.31 106.15 9 810 S 9 780 9 660 Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) 7.3 3.79 82.34 12 350 R 10 370 7 170 Swan Hill 4.5 1.81 64.73 9 940 R 8 380 7 080 Wakool Junction 8.8 3.68 52.80 10 820 R 10 100 10 210 Euston Weir (d/s) 8.8 1.90 43.74 9 610 R 9 350 10 640 Mildura Weir (d/s) ------Wentworth Weir (d/s) 7.3 3.17 27.93 9 160 S 9 430 10 950 Rufus Junction - 3.98 20.91 9 690 R 9 340 9 220 Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) - 0.89 - 8 930 R 8 840 9 290

Tributaries Kiewa at Bandiana 2.7 1.29 154.52 900 R 750 490 Ovens at Wangaratta 11.9 8.27 145.95 1 280 R 760 730 Goulburn at McCoys Bridge 9.0 3.57 94.99 5 050 F 5 310 1 040 Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) - 2.40 82.17 2 640 F 2 650 2 710 Edward at Liewah - 2.92 58.30 2 450 R 2 370 2 180 Wakool at Stoney Crossing - 1.55 55.05 740 S 770 950 Murrumbidgee at Balranald 5.0 2.17 58.13 1 740 R 1 500 1 120 Barwon at Mungindi - 2.62 - 0 F 0 0 Darling at Bourke - 3.97 - 30 F 30 100 Darling at Burtundy Rocks - 0.69 - 90 R 70 70

Natural Inflow to Hume 3 440 4 140 (i.e. Pre Dartmouth & Snowy Mountains scheme)

Weirs and Locks Pool levels above or below Full Supply Level (FSL) Murray FSL (m AHD) u/s d/s FSL (m AHD) u/s d/s Yarrawonga 124.90 -0.07 - No. 7 Rufus River 22.10 +0.02 +1.67 No. 26 Torrumbarry 86.05 +0.00 - No. 6 Murtho 19.25 +0.01 +0.26 No. 15 Euston 47.60 +0.18 - No. 5 Renmark 16.30 +0.11 +0.40 No. 11 Mildura 34.40 +0.00 +0.26 No. 4 Bookpurnong 13.20 +0.05 +1.08 No. 10 Wentworth 30.80 +0.06 +0.53 No. 3 Overland Corner 9.80 +0.00 +0.53 No. 9 Kulnine 27.40 +0.19 +0.49 No. 2 Waikerie 6.10 +0.26 +0.39 No. 8 Wangumma 24.60 +0.40 +0.28 No. 1 Blanchetown 3.20 +0.00 +0.14

Lower Lakes FSL = 0.75 m AHD Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) 0.69 Barrages Fishways at Barrages Openings Level (m AHD) No. Open Rock Ramp Vertical Slot Goolwa 128 openings 0.72 3 - Open Mundoo 26 openings 0.69 All closed - - Boundary Creek 6 openings - 0.1 - - Ewe Island 111 gates - All closed - - Tauwitchere 322 gates 0.71 5 Open Open AHD = Level relative to Australian Height Datum, i.e. height above sea level

GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 02 6279 0100 Facsimile: 02 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mdba.gov.au ABN 13679821382 Page 5 of 7 Week ending Wednesday 26 Nov 2014

State Allocations (as at 26 Nov 2014) NSW - Murray Valley Victorian - Murray Valley High security 97% High reliability 100% General security 45% Low reliability 0%

NSW – Murrumbidgee Valley High security 95% High reliability 100% General security 40% Low reliability 0%

NSW - Lower Darling South Australia – Murray Valley High security 100% High security 100% General security 100%

NSW : http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/Water-management/Water-availability/Water- allocations/Water-allocations-summary/water-allocations-summary/default.aspx VIC : http://www.nvrm.net.au/allocations/current.aspx SA : http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/managing-natural-resources/river-murray

GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601 Telephone: 02 6279 0100 Facsimile: 02 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mdba.gov.au ABN 13679821382Page 6 of 7 Flow advice

19 November 2014

Murray flows to vary from late November

Communities along the River Murray between Echuca and Mildura are reminded that river levels will be changing for a few weeks starting in late November 2014. River users are advised to adjust their activities, pumps and moorings accordingly.

The changes will occur as environmental water released from Lake Eildon enters the Murray from the Goulburn River.

The River Murray is expected to start rising quickly at Echuca from around 24 November. As the water moves along the river, levels will be high for about two weeks before dropping back to their regular height.

Downstream of the Torrumbarry Weir the river is forecast to peak at around four metres as the flow passes through before dropping back to two metres. If conditions remain dry, levels at Swan Hill could rise from 1.3 metres to about two metres at the local gauge.

The environmental pulse will use Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder allocations to benefit fish spawning and vegetation on the Goulburn River, and will boost downstream watering in the mid Murray, lower Murray, Lower Lakes and the Coorong. In addition to the environmental water, the pulse will also include delivery of water traded from the Goulburn Valley to the River Murray.

This will be the second of two environmental pulses from the Goulburn River, the first of which passed through the system from mid-October to early November.

The planned flows in the Goulburn River will be managed by Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority in collaboration with Goulburn-Murray Water, with releases made in line with the Victorian Environmental Water Holder’s Seasonal Watering Plan 2014-15.

River users wanting more information on River Murray heights can receive updates at www.mdba.gov.au/river-data/current-information-forecasts

Further updates will be provided as required through the media and the MDBA's river operations weekly report.

For more information, contact the MDBA Media office at [email protected] or 02 6279 0141 Follow @MD_Basin_Auth on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MD_Basin_Auth Join the discussion on the MDBA blog: http://freeflow.mdba.gov.au