River Murray Weekly Report

For the week ending Wednesday, 26 February2018

Trim Ref:D14/7578

Rainfall and Inflows

There was further rain over the NSW slopes and ranges andacross central and southern Queensland this week as a trough interacted with a cold front to generate rain and some intense thunderstorms. The system brought lighter rain to far southern areas; while western parts of the Murray-Darling Basin remainedmostly dry (Map 1).

Highest rainfall totals in Queensland included 134 mm at Carnarvon Station in the upper Warrego River catchment, 126 mm at Meandarra in the Balonne River catchment, and 116 mm at Southwood in the Moonie River catchment. In NSW, 56 mm was recorded at Hill End and 49 mm at Oberon; whilst in the ACT 82 mm was recorded in Tuggeranong – all of which fell in one 24 hour period. In Victoria, significant rainfall totals included 24 mm at Mt Hotham and 17 mm at Lake Eildon; and in South Australia 12 mm was recorded at Meningie on the shores of Lake Albert.

Map 1 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall for the week ending 26 February 2014 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

There was little rain across the upper Murray catchments this week and stream flows remained low. On the Mitta Mitta River, the flow at Hinnomunjie Bridge decreased from 130 to 115 ML/day. On the upper River Murray, the flow at Biggara receded from 400 to 370 ML/day; while on the Ovens River, the flow at Wangaratta decreased from 335 to 250 ML/day.

River Operations

MDBA active storage decreased by 79 GL this week and is currently 5,222 GL or 62% capacity. At Dartmouth Reservoir, storage decreased by 14 GL to 3,502 GL (91% capacity). The release, measured at Colemans gauge, remained steady this week at 2,000 ML/day and is likely to remain the same next week.

At Hume Reservoir, the storage volume decreased by77 GL to 1,454 GL (48% capacity). The average release from Hume this week was approximately 13,000 ML/day, which was relatively low due to the reduction in demand caused by widespread rain the previous week. With irrigation demand starting to come back online, the release will be increased in coming days to around 16,000 ML/day.

At Yarrawonga Weir, total diversions at the irrigation offtakes remained steady at 31 GL this week. The pool level has fallento 124.75 m AHD and is expected to continue to be lowered to just below 124.7 m AHD over coming days ahead of possible rain showers. The release downstream of Yarrawonga remained steady this week at 9,700 ML/day. Early next week the release in expected to be reduced to 9,200 ML/day for several days before returning to 9,700 ML/day.

On the Edward River, flow through the Edward and Gulpa Creek offtakes this week averaged 1,600ML/day and 350 ML/day respectively. The flow downstream of Stevens Weir reduced to 1,100ML/day, following a peak of 2,500 ML/day on 21 February.The flow in the Edward River at Moulamein is currently 1,800 ML/day and expected to peak at around 1,850 ML in the next day or two. On the Niemur River, the flow at Mallan School peaked at 500 ML/day at the end of the week and is expected to begin slowly receding.

On the Goulburn River, the flow at McCoys Bridge receded from 2,100 ML/day to around 1,200ML/day. Reductions to the volume of Inter-Valley Transfer (IVT) water being called from the Goulburn River will result in the flow at McCoys Bridge continuing to recede to 950 ML/day in the coming week. IVTwater refers to water which has been traded between valleys. When available, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority can draw on water from IVT accounts in the Goulburn and Murrumbidgee valleys for Murray system operations. Further downstream on the Murray, the release from Torrumbarry Weir has reduced to 6,400 ML/day and is expected to lower to below 6,000 ML/day in the coming week.

Commissioning of new works at one of The Living Murray icon sites, Gunbower Forest, iscommencing in the coming week. The commissioning is being carried out to test the gates on the Hipwell Road Offtake Regulator and Hipwell Road Weir structures. This will result in a small volume of environmental water being delivered into the Hipwell Road Channel, which flows into Gunbower Forest. The amount of water that will reach the forest is expected to be minimal. The commissioning will also involve lifting the water level within Gunbower Creek by operating the Hipwell Road Weir(Figure 1). Latest updates on environmental watering activities within Gunbower Forest can be found on North Central Catchment Management Authority’s website:

On the lower Murrumbidgee River, the flow at Balranald increased this week from 300 ML/day to 1,440 ML/day in response to last week’s rain. The flow at Balranald is expected to continue rising up to a peak of around 3,300 ML/day over coming days. Downstream on the Murray at Euston, the flow remained relatively stable at 8,400 ML/day this week, but is expected to rise up to around 9,700 ML/day over the coming week due to inflows from the Murrumbidgee River.

Figure 1: Hipwell Road Weir on Gunbower Creek. (Photo courtesy Greg Watkins, Goulburn-Murray Water).

At Menindee Lakes, the storage volume decreased by 24 GL over the last week to 454 GL (26% capacity). The release from the lakes is targeting 350 ML/day on the Darling River at Weir 32.At Burtundy, the flow has fallen from 1,200 ML/day to 800 ML/day and will continue to recede over coming weeks to a base flow of around 320 ML/day. On the Murray, downstream of the Darling confluence, the flow at Wentworth Weir is currently 8,750 ML/day following a peak earlier in the week of 9,900 ML/day.

At Lake Victoria, the storage volume increased this week by12 GL to 460 GL (68% capacity). This increase in volume was primarily a result of higher flows in the River Murray following the significant rain event last week. Theflow to South Australia averaged 5,600 ML/day this week. At the Lower Lakes, the 5-day average water level in Lake Alexandrina is currently 0.62 m AHD and the estimated release through the barrages is approximately 420 ML/day.

For media inquiries contact the Media Officeron 02 6279 0141

ANDREWREYNOLDS

Acting Executive Director, River Management

Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 26 Feb 2014

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 / 480.45 / 3 502 / 91% / 71 / 3 431 / -14
Hume Reservoir / 192.00 / 3 005 / 182.60 / 1 454 / 48% / 23 / 1 431 / -77
Lake Victoria / 27.00 / 677 / 25.11 / 460 / 68% / 100 / 360 / +12
Menindee Lakes / 1 731* / 454 / 26% / (- -) # / 0 / -24
Total / 9 269 / 5 870 / 63% / - - / 5 222 / -102
Total Active MDBA Storage / 62% ^
Major State Storages
Burrinjuck Reservoir / 1 026 / 459 / 45% / 3 / 456 / +7
Blowering Reservoir / 1 631 / 929 / 57% / 24 / 905 / -40
Eildon Reservoir / 3 334 / 2 537 / 76% / 100 / 2 437 / -30

*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 Feb 2014

Storage / Active Storage (GL) / Weekly Change (GL) / Diversion (GL) / This Week / From 1 May 2013
Lake Eucumbene - Total / 1 497 / n/a / Snowy-Murray / +0 / 650
Snowy-Murray Component / 697 / n/a / Tooma-Tumut / +0 / 234
Target Storage / 1 460 / Net Diversion / 0 / 416
Murray 1 Release / +2 / 937

Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) *

New South Wales / This Week / From 1 July 2013 / Victoria / This Week / From 1 July 2013
Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) / 22.3 / 913 / Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) / 8.6 / 251
Wakool Sys Allowance / 1.7 / 28 / Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) / 12.1 / 390
Western Murray Irrigation / 0.4 / 22 / Sunraysia Pumped Districts / 2 / 98
Licensed Pumps / 6.0 / 181 / Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) / 3.7 / 151
Lower Darling / 4.1 / 186 / Licensed pumps - LMW / 11.2 / 247
TOTAL / 34.5 / 1330 / TOTAL / 37.6 / 1137

* 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 the delivery of additional environmental water. / Entitlement this month / 194.0 *
Flow this week / 39.0 / (5 600 ML/day)
Flow so far this month / 191.1
Flow last month / 240.0

Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C)

Current / Average over the last week / Average since 1 August 2013
Swan Hill / 110 / 120 / 90
Euston / 120 / 100 / 100
Red Cliffs / 110 / 120 / 110
Merbein / 140 / 140 / 120
Burtundy (Darling) / 480 / 490 / 510
Lock 9 / 210 / 230 / 180
Lake Victoria / 230 / 230 / 250
Berri / 360 / 380 / 260
Waikerie / 420 / 380 / 310
Morgan / 370 / 380 / 300
Mannum / 340 / 330 / 330
Murray Bridge / 360 / 350 / 350
Milang (Lake Alex.) / 700 / 710 / 670
Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) / 570 / 580 / 540
Meningie (Lake Alb.) / 2 710 / 2 770 / 2 630
Goolwa Barrages / 1 130 / 1 090 / 1 320

River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 26 Feb 2014

Minor Flood Stage / Gauge / Height / Flow / Trend / Average Flow this Week / Average Flow last Week
River Murray / (m) / local (m) / (m AHD) / (ML/day) / (ML/day) / (ML/day)
Khancoban / - / - / - / 440 / F / 450 / 930
Jingellic / 4.0 / 1.09 / 207.61 / 0 / F / 400 / 1 930
Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) / 4.2 / 1.96 / 218.85 / 2 070 / F / 2 120 / 3 130
Heywoods / 5.5 / 3.24 / 156.87 / 14 840 / R / 12 720 / 14 820
Doctors Point / 5.5 / 3.07 / 151.54 / 15 640 / R / 13 660 / 15 600
Albury / 4.3 / 2.09 / 149.53 / - / - / - / -
Corowa / 3.8 / 2.83 / 128.85 / 12 810 / F / 13 560 / 16 270
Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) / 6.4 / 1.60 / 116.64 / 9 690 / F / 9 690 / 9 920
Tocumwal / 6.4 / 2.24 / 106.08 / 9 350 / R / 9 370 / 9 610
Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 2.21 / 80.76 / 6 380 / F / 7 300 / 7 750
Swan Hill / 4.5 / 1.41 / 64.33 / 6 890 / F / 7 350 / 6 800
Wakool Junction / 8.8 / 3.30 / 52.42 / 8 840 / S / 8 950 / 7 750
Euston Weir (d/s) / 8.8 / 1.69 / 43.53 / 8 280 / F / 8 420 / 7 130
Mildura Weir (d/s) / - / - / - / - / - / -
Wentworth Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 3.10 / 27.86 / 8 750 / S / 8 840 / 6 750
Rufus Junction / - / 3.18 / 20.11 / 4 670 / F / 4 680 / 5 820
Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) / - / 0.69 / - / 3 060 / F / 4 080 / 4 030
Tributaries
Kiewa at Bandiana / 2.7 / 0.69 / 153.92 / 170 / F / 240 / 280
Ovens at Wangaratta / 11.9 / 7.81 / 145.49 / 250 / S / 290 / 300
Goulburn at McCoys Bridge / 9.0 / 1.66 / 93.08 / 1 240 / F / 1 660 / 2 670
Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) / - / 1.34 / 81.11 / 1 120 / F / 1 700 / 1 650
Edward at Liewah / - / 2.09 / 57.47 / 1 430 / R / 1 320 / 1 290
Wakool at Stoney Crossing / - / 1.60 / 55.09 / 870 / R / 760 / 660
Murrumbidgee at Balranald / 5.0 / 1.89 / 57.85 / 1 440 / R / 630 / 380
Barwon at Mungindi / - / 3.18 / - / 90 / F / 150 / 60
Darling at Bourke / - / 4.04 / - / 160 / S / 110 / 40
Darling at Burtundy Rocks / - / - / - / 730 / F / 980 / 1 180
Natural Inflow to Hume / 840 / 1 430

(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/s
Yarrawonga / 124.90 / -0.14 / - / No. 7 Rufus River / 22.10 / +0.16 / +0.83
No. 26 Torrumbarry / 86.05 / -0.01 / - / No. 6 Murtho / 19.25 / +0.10 / +0.11
No. 15 Euston / 47.60 / +0.00 / - / No. 5 Renmark / 16.30 / +0.10 / +0.25
No. 11 Mildura / 34.40 / +0.07 / +0.16 / No. 4 Bookpurnong / 13.20 / +0.13 / +0.61
No. 10 Wentworth / 30.80 / -0.03 / +0.46 / No. 3 Overland Corner / 9.80 / +0.13 / +0.33
No. 9 Kulnine / 27.40 / +0.10 / -0.05 / No. 2 Waikerie / 6.10 / +0.21 / +0.25
No. 8 Wangumma / 24.60 / +0.00 / +0.24 / No. 1 Blanchetown / 3.20 / -12.20 / -0.06

Lower LakesFSL = 0.75 m AHD

Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) / 0.62

Barrages Fishways at Barrages

Openings / Level (m AHD) / No. Open / Rock Ramp / Vertical Slot
Goolwa / 128 openings / 0.59 / All closed / - / Open
Mundoo / 26 openings / 0.53 / All closed / - / -
Boundary Creek / 6 openings / - / 0.1 / - / -
Ewe Island / 111 gates / - / All closed / - / -
Tauwitchere / 322 gates / 0.55 / 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

Page 1 of 6

Email: Web: ABN 13679821382

Week ending Wednesday 26 Feb 2014

State Allocations (as at 26 Feb 2014)

NSW - Murray Valley / Victorian - Murray Valley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW – MurrumbidgeeValley / Victorian - GoulburnValley
High security / 95%
General security / 59%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW - Lower Darling / South Australia – MurrayValley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High security / 100%
NSW : /
VIC : /
SA : /

Page 1 of 6