River Murray Weekly Report
For the week ending Wednesday, 13th March2018
Trim Ref:D13/9972
Rainfall and Inflows
There was very little rain across the Murray-Darling Basin this week with most locations remaining dry (Map 1). The only area in the Basin to record totals above 10 mm was the far north-east where Dalveen received 18 mm and Toowoomba recorded 17 mm. In areas across the southern and south-western Basin, the week was characterised by persistent high temperatures. From the Lower Lakes to Albury-Wodonga, mostlocalities recorded daily maximum temperatures between 6 and 12 degrees above the March average throughout the entire week.
Map 1 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall for the week ending 13 March 2013 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology).
Streamflows in the upper Murray catchments have receded sharply following the peaks resulting from the previous week’s rain, with most gauges back close to the levels observed prior to the rain. On the upper River Murray, the flow at Biggara has been fairly steady averaging around 550 ML/day. On the Ovens River, the flow at Wangaratta has averaged around 450 ML/day and is receding slowly.
In the northern Basin, the flow in the Barwon River at Mungindi continues to rise towards a second peak, which is now expected in a few days’ time with moderate flooding. For more information on flood warnings, see the Bureau of Meteorology website at Downstream on the Darling River, flows resulting from the initial late January rain event continue to increase at Wilcannia, with the
flow (currently 16,000 ML/day) expected to continue rising for several more days towards a peak next week.
River Operations
MDBA active storage showed an apparent increase this week of 51 GL to 5,807 GL (68% capacity). The rise was due to a hydrographic correction of the water level in Lakes Menindee and Cawndilla. Routine checks of water monitoring sites and equipment across the River Murray System revealed that the actual level in these lakes was higher than previously monitored.
At Dartmouth Reservoir, the storage fell by14 GL to 3,636 GL (94% capacity) with inflows averaging just 250ML/day. The release from Dartmouth reduced from 3,000 to 2,000 ML/day during the week, with the flow at Colemans expected to be about 800 ML/day by the weekend of 23–24 March.
This week, the volume in Hume Reservoir decreased by 46 GL to 1,624 GL (54% capacity). The flow at Doctors Point has varied between 15,800 and 19,000 ML/day, with the flow next week also expected to be within this range.
At Yarrawonga, the pool level in Lake Mulwala is currently 124.82 m AHD. Combined diversions at Mulwala Canal and Yarrawonga Main Channel now total about 8,300 ML/day. The downstream release is 8,000 ML/day, and expected to remain at about this rate for the next week.
On the Edward-Wakool system, the total flow through the Edward River and Gulpa Creek offtakes has been steady at about 1,650 ML/day. The flow downstream of Stevens Weir has averaged 680 ML/day during the week. Downstream on the Edward River, the flow at Leiwah reached a peak of 1,100ML/day on Wednesday, 13 March 2013. On the Wakool River, the flow at Stoney Crossing is currently 540 ML/day and forecast to slowly recede.
On the Goulburn River, there was a peak flow of 3,600 ML/day at McCoys Bridge on Monday, 11March, created by a release of environmental water. The flow is expected to continue receding down to about 900 ML/day by early April.
At Torrumbarry Weir, the downstream flow is currently 6,300 ML/day and expected to remain above 5,000 ML/day for at least the next week. At Swan Hill, the flow has reduced from 6,600 to 5,200ML/day during the week, with a slower recession forecast for the coming week.
At Euston Weir, the flow is now 6,100 ML/day and expected to recede to about 5,000 ML/day within 7–10 days. A similar flow regime is forecast for Mildura Weir.
Total storage at Menindee Lakes is 987 GL (57% capacity), an apparent increase of 117 GL from last week. Note that the hydrographic correction (discussed at the beginning of this section) is responsible for about 80 GL of this increase. In addition, Lakes Wetherell and Pamamaroo have risen by about 60cm since last week due to the rising inflows. High inflows into the Menindee Lakes are expected to continue for at least the next 6 weeks. The flow at Weir 32 is steady at about 3,900 ML/day.
A ‘biofilm monitoring experiment’ is underway in the lower Darling River near Burtundy Weir. ‘Biofilms’ —a mix of algae, bacteria and fungi—grow on snags and other submerged surfaces in the river and are important food resources for river life including shrimp, yabbies and fish. The experiment is designed to mimic different regimes of river level variation to learn more about how flow affects the quality of biofilm in the river (Figure 1). For more information about the experiment, including arranging to visit researchers working at the experimental site, please contact the MDBA at .
Figure 1 - The biofilm monitoring experiment site on the lower Darling River near Burtundy Weir(Photo: Todd Wallace, The University of Adelaide).
The flow in the Murray at Wentworth has increased from 7,800 to8,300 ML/day and is expected to remain above 7,500 ML/day during the next week.At Lake Victoria, storage volume decreased by 6GL to234 GL (34% capacity) and should continue to fall slowly over the coming week.
The flow into South Australia has been increased to a target of8,500 ML/day. The flow isbeing boostedabove the normal entitlement flow for March with about 80 GL environmental water. At Lock1, the flow is currently 4,600 ML/day but should increase slightly in the coming week as higher flows arrive from upstream (Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Flows over Lock 1 at Blanchetown continue to be boosted by above entitlement flows into South Australiadue to theaddition of environmental water released from upstream(Photo: Andrew Bishop, MDBA).
The five day average level in the Lower Lakes has decreasedslightly to around 0.61 m AHD (Figure 3). Small releases are continuing with only a limited number gates open at each barrage.
Figure 3 - Birds at Tauwitchere Barrage have recently experienced prolonged high temperatures and unusually low tides in the Coorong (Photo: Andrew Bishop, MDBA).
For media inquiries contact the Media Officeron 02 6279 0141
DAVID DREVERMAN
Executive Director, River Management
Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 13 Mar 2013
MDBA Storages / Full Supply Level / Full Supply Volume / Current Storage Level / Current / Storage / Dead Storage / Active Storage / Change in Total Storage for the Week(m AHD) / (GL) / (m AHD) / (GL) / % / (GL) / (GL) / (GL)
Dartmouth Reservoir / 486.00 / 3 856 / 482.58 / 3 636 / 94% / 71 / 3 565 / -14
Hume Reservoir / 192.00 / 3 005 / 183.86 / 1 624 / 54% / 23 / 1 601 / -46
Lake Victoria / 27.00 / 677 / 22.86 / 234 / 35% / 100 / 134 / -6
Menindee Lakes / 1 731* / 987 / 57% / (480 #) / 507 / +117
Total / 9 269 / 6 481 / 70% / - - / 5 807 / +51
Total Active MDBA Storage / 68% ^
Major State Storages
Burrinjuck Reservoir / 1 026 / 389 / 38% / 3 / 386 / +4
Blowering Reservoir / 1 631 / 1 014 / 62% / 24 / 990 / -3
Eildon Reservoir / 3 334 / 2 570 / 77% / 100 / 2 470 / -42
*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 12 Mar 2013
Storage / Active Storage (GL) / Weekly Change (GL) / Diversion (GL) / This Week / From 1 May 2012Lake Eucumbene - Total / 1 967 / -56 / Snowy-Murray / +42 / 732
Snowy-Murray Component / 781 / -42 / Tooma-Tumut / +0 / 207
Target Storage / 1 410 / Net Diversion / 42 / 525
Murray 1 Release / +45 / 995
Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) *
New South Wales / This Week / From 1 July 2012 / Victoria / This Week / From 1 July 2012Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) / 30.8 / 1296 / Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) / 16.4 / 302
Wakool Sys Allowance / 1.9 / 54 / Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) / 16.8 / 417
Western Murray Irrigation / 0.8 / 26 / Sunraysia Pumped Districts / 3.4 / 110
Licensed Pumps / 6.7 / 208 / Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) / 2.1 / 46
Lower Darling / 2.9 / 92 / Licensed pumps - LMW / 4.2 / 259
TOTAL / 43.1 / 1676 / TOTAL / 42.9 / 1134
* 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)* Flow to SA will be greater than normal entitlement for this month due to traded environmental water. / Entitlement this month / 186.0 *
Flow this week / 54.3 / (7 800 ML/day)
Flow so far this month / 100.5
Flow last month / 248.9
Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C)
Current / Average over the last week / Average since 1 August 2012Swan Hill / 100 / 90 / 100
Euston / 140 / 150 / 130
Red Cliffs / 170 / 170 / 140
Merbein / 200 / 200 / 150
Burtundy (Darling) / 540 / 530 / 460
Lock 9 / 340 / 350 / 240
Lake Victoria / 290 / 290 / 250
Berri / 490 / 460 / 300
Waikerie / 470 / 460 / 310
Morgan / 490 / 460 / 310
Mannum / 450 / 470 / 320
Murray Bridge / 480 / 480 / 330
Milang (Lake Alex.) / 510 / 490 / 410
Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) / 460 / 470 / 330
Meningie (Lake Alb.) / 3 570 / 3 500 / 3 440
Goolwa Barrages / 960 / 790 / 1 350
River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 13 Mar 2013
Minor Flood Stage / Gauge / Height / Flow / Trend / Average Flow this Week / Average Flow last WeekRiver Murray / (m) / local (m) / (m AHD) / (ML/day) / (ML/day) / (ML/day)
Khancoban / - / - / - / 7 470 / F / 6 590 / 5 910
Jingellic / 4.0 / 2.11 / 208.63 / 8 260 / R / 7 920 / 8 950
Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) / 4.2 / 1.98 / 218.87 / 2 140 / F / 2 600 / 3 510
Heywoods / 5.5 / 3.17 / 156.80 / 15 400 / S / 16 130 / 11 810
Doctors Point / 5.5 / 3.08 / 151.55 / 15 770 / F / 16 540 / 12 530
Albury / 4.3 / 2.08 / 149.52 / - / - / - / -
Corowa / 3.8 / 3.23 / 129.25 / 15 560 / F / 16 510 / 11 310
Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) / 6.4 / 1.38 / 116.42 / 7 930 / F / 8 480 / 8 390
Tocumwal / 6.4 / 2.14 / 105.98 / 8 700 / F / 8 110 / 8 610
Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 2.19 / 80.74 / 6 310 / R / 6 000 / 7 180
Swan Hill / 4.5 / 1.13 / 64.05 / 5 160 / F / 6 050 / 6 220
Wakool Junction / 8.8 / 2.83 / 51.95 / 7 180 / F / 7 590 / 7 090
Euston Weir (d/s) / 8.8 / 1.31 / 43.15 / 6 110 / F / 6 580 / 5 880
Mildura Weir (d/s) / - / - / 6 270 / F / 5 720 / 4 950
Wentworth Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 3.04 / 27.80 / 8 260 / S / 8 080 / 7 410
Rufus Junction / - / 3.72 / 20.65 / 7 470 / R / 7 080 / 6 980
Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) / - / 0.67 / - / 4 600 / F / 4 810 / 6 040
Tributaries
Kiewa at Bandiana / 2.7 / 0.77 / 154.00 / 300 / F / 400 / 450
Ovens at Wangaratta / 11.9 / 7.79 / 145.47 / 390 / F / 440 / 640
Goulburn at McCoys Bridge / 9.0 / 2.86 / 94.28 / 3 360 / F / 3 230 / 2 690
Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) / - / 0.89 / 80.66 / 650 / F / 680 / 970
Edward at Liewah / - / 1.75 / 57.13 / 1 080 / R / 950 / 770
Wakool at Stoney Crossing / - / 1.47 / 54.97 / 540 / F / 610 / 760
Murrumbidgee at Balranald / 5.0 / 0.40 / 56.36 / 180 / S / 180 / 210
Barwon at Mungindi / - / 6.58 / - / 10 380 / R / 7 600 / 2 170
Darling at Bourke / - / 5.28 / - / 9 810 / F / 18 620 / 21 070
Darling at Burtundy Rocks / - / 2.40 / - / 3 610 / R / 3 190 / 3 570
Natural Inflow to Hume / 1 460 / 6 680
(i.e. Pre Dartmouth & Snowy Mountains scheme)
Weirs and LocksPool levels above or below Full Supply Level (FSL)
Murray / FSL (m AHD) / u/s / d/s / FSL (m AHD) / u/s / d/sYarrawonga / 124.90 / -0.08 / - / No. 7 Rufus River / 22.10 / +0.10 / +1.40
No. 26 Torrumbarry / 86.05 / +0.01 / - / No. 6 Murtho / 19.25 / +0.01 / +0.25
No. 15 Euston / 47.60 / -0.05 / - / No. 5 Renmark / 16.30 / -0.02 / +0.20
No. 11 Mildura / 34.40 / +0.04 / +0.13 / No. 4 Bookpurnong / 13.20 / +0.03 / +0.83
No. 10 Wentworth / 30.80 / +0.03 / +0.40 / No. 3 Overland Corner / 9.80 / +0.00 / +0.33
No. 9 Kulnine / 27.40 / +0.02 / +0.09 / No. 2 Waikerie / 6.10 / +0.03 / +0.25
No. 8 Wangumma / 24.60 / +0.10 / +0.10 / No. 1 Blanchetown / 3.20 / +0.04 / -0.08
Lower LakesFSL = 0.75 m AHD
Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) / 0.61Barrages Fishways at Barrages
Openings / Level (m AHD) / No. Open / Rock Ramp / Vertical SlotGoolwa / 128 openings / 0.44 / 1 / - / Open
Mundoo / 26 openings / 0.38 / 0.2 / - / -
Boundary Creek / 6 openings / - / 0.1 / - / -
Ewe Island / 111 gates / - / All closed / - / -
Tauwitchere / 322 gates / 0.41 / 1 / Open / Open
AHD = Level relative to Australian Height Datum, i.e. height above sea level
GPO Box 1801 Canberra ACT 2601Telephone: 02 6279 0100Facsimile: 02 6248 8053
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Email: Web: ABN 13679821382
Week ending Wednesday 13 Mar 2013
State Allocations (as at 13 Mar 2013)
NSW - Murray Valley / Victorian - Murray ValleyHigh security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW – MurrumbidgeeValley / Victorian - GoulburnValley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW - Lower Darling / South Australia – MurrayValley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High security / 100%
NSW : /
VIC : /
SA : /
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