River Murray Weekly Report
For the week ending Wednesday, 10 December2018
Trim Ref:D14/54186
Rainfall and Inflows
A near-stationery trough system and high moisture levels in the atmosphere over much of Australia triggered rain and storms during the past week over a large part of the Murray-Darling Basin. Storms were most frequent along the eastern slopes and ranges where total weekly rainfall accumulations in excess of 50 mm were widespread. There was patchier rain across parts of the central and northern Basin, with conditions relatively dry in the west.
Particularly intense storms affected far south-eastern areas of the Basin where totals included 122 mm at Mt Hotham, 115 mm at Joker Creek, 113 mm at Hinnomunjie Bridge, 100 mm at Omeo and 85 mm at Cooma. Just outside the Basin, there was 176 mm at Perisher Valley in the NSW Snowy Mountains. Elsewhere, totals included 79 mm at Boort and 74 mm at Wangaratta in Victoria; 97 mm at Tamworth, 94 mm at Wallangra, 89 mm at Pallamallawa and 79 mm at Dunedoo in NSW; and 85 mm at Felton, 83mm at Ripple Downs and 76 mm at Toowoomba and Warwick in Queensland.
Map 1 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall for the week ending 10th December 2014 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology).
There was a general increase in flows along the upper Murray system tributaries with many sites recording their highest flows since early September. The best response was on the upper Mitta Mitta River where the flow at Hinnomunjie Bridge increased from just 400 ML/day to a peak close to 9,500ML/day on 7 December. On the upper Murray, the flow at Biggara peaked at 3,900 ML/day with the flow downstream at Jingellic reaching 6,600 ML/day. On the Ovens River, the flow at Peechelba peaked at around 1,600 ML/day due in part to heavy local rain (60mm at Wangaratta) across the lower Ovens catchment.
River Operations
MDBA total storage decreased by 41 GL this week, with the active storage now 5,620 GL (67% capacity). At DartmouthReservoir, the storage volume has decreased by 28 GL to 3,347 GL (87% capacity). The release, measured at Colemans, remained steady this week and is expected to continue at around 7,000 ML/day, until the end of December, under dry conditions. These releases are bulk transfers to ensure Hume can meet downstream demands this water year.
At Hume Reservoir, higher inflows and reduced demand slowed the rate of fall, with the storage volume decreasing by only 13 GL to 1,916 GL (64% capacity). Daily inflows reached around 13,500ML/day and averaged 10,900 ML/day. Releases were reduced early in the week in anticipation of forecast rainfall. Falling river levels downstream of Hume, while not encouraging Murray Cod to bite for the start of the Cod fishing season (opened December 1), did provide improved conditions for campers on the river around Albury-Wodonga (Photo 1).
Photo 1 –River Murray at Richardson's Bend downstream of Wodonga with a flow of around 12,000 ML/day (Source: Sean Kelly, MDBA).
Average daily water temperature downstream of Hume Dam is currently relatively warm at around 17°C (see Figure 1). This compares reasonably well with the water temperature in the unregulated reaches of the Murray upstream of Hume at Biggara (19°C). This suggests some mixing of warmer surface waters in the release as the storage level falls. Typically the temperature of water released from depth at large dams is considerably colder than natural during summer. For example, the water released from Dartmouth Dam is currently only 10°C compared with 17°C in the unregulated reaches of the Mitta Mitta River upstream of Dartmouth at Hinnomunjie. Further downstream of Hume Dam, average daily water temperatures continue to warm with 21°C currently observed at Corowa, 24°C at Tocumwal and 25°C at Swan Hill.
Figure 1 – Average daily water temperatures on the Mitta Mitta River and River Murray during December.
At Yarrawonga Weir, rainfall over the weekend reduced demand at Yarrawonga Main Canal from around 1,600 ML/day to 600 ML/day, while diversions at Mulwala Canal remained steady at around 4,000 ML/day rather than increasing as would have been expected if conditions had remained dry. With increased inflows from the Ovens Riverthe weir pool peaked late in the week at full supply level (124.9m AHD) but is now falling away - currently 124.88 m AHD. The release downstream remained around channel capacity.
On the Edward River system, the combined inflow through the Edward and Gulpa off-takes was around 1,900 ML/day. Inflow from the Edward Escape continued close to its capacity of around 2,400ML/day. Diversions to Wakool Main Canal eased this week to around 650 ML/day. The flow downstream of Stevens Weir remains close to channel capacity at around 2,700 ML/day.
On the Goulburn River, the flow at McCoys Bridge was steady at around 1,000 ML/day and is forecast to be around 940 ML/day until the end of December under dry conditions. This is above the average monthly minimum flow for December of 350 ML/day due to the delivery of Inter-Valley Trade (IVT) water.
At Torrumbarry Weir, diversions at National Channel were reduced to 1,000 ML/day over the weekend due to reduced demand and to assist with the recovery of a kayaker who tragically drowned when his kayak capsizedat Taylors Creek in the Torrumbarry system. The flow downstream of Torrumbarry Weir is currently 7,300 ML/day, after briefly increasing to 8,100ML/day, and will continue to recede over the coming week.
On the lower Murrumbidgee River, flow at Balranald is currently around 1,500 ML/day. This is above the normal December end of system target of 254 ML/day due to the delivery of IVT water to the Murray. The flow at Balranald is expected to remainaround1,500 ML/day into the New Year. On the River Murray at Euston Weir, the flow reduced to around 10,800 ML/day and will continue to recede over the coming week.
On the Darling River, total storage in Menindee Lakes decreased by 9 GL to the current volume of 218GL (13% capacity). For further information about management of the Menindee Lakes and the lower Darling, please see the attached information Bulletinissued by Water NSW. Releases at Weir32 averaged 150 ML/day and flow at Burtundy is currently 40ML/day.
On the Murray, the lowering of the Lock 8 and 9 weir pools back to FSL (24.60m AHD and 27.4m AHD respectively) continued this week and will be completed over the coming days.
At Lake Victoria, the storage volume increased by 9 GL to 551 GL (81% capacity). The flow to South Australia is targeting 8,000 ML/day over the coming week and currently remains above the normal South Australian entitlement due to the delivery of additional traded environmental water.
At the Lower Lakes, the 5-day average level for Lake Alexandrina is 0.69 m AHD. Release into the Coorong through the Barrages is continuing to target 2,000 ML/day.
For media inquiries contact the Media Officeron 02 6279 0141
DAVID DREVERMAN
Executive Director, River Management
Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 10 Dec 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 / 477.90 / 3 347 / 87% / 71 / 3 276 / -28
Hume Reservoir / 192.00 / 3 005 / 185.86 / 1 916 / 64% / 23 / 1 893 / -13
Lake Victoria / 27.00 / 677 / 25.94 / 551 / 81% / 100 / 451 / +9
Menindee Lakes / 1 731* / 218 / 13% / (- -) # / 0 / -9
Total / 9 269 / 6 032 / 65% / - - / 5 620 / -41
Total Active Storage / 67% ^
Major State Storages
Burrinjuck Reservoir / 1 026 / 760 / 74% / 3 / 757 / +19
Blowering Reservoir / 1 631 / 640 / 39% / 24 / 616 / -40
Eildon Reservoir / 3 334 / 2 656 / 80% / 100 / 2 556 / -6
*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 09 Dec 2014
Storage / Active Storage (GL) / Weekly Change (GL) / Diversion (GL) / This Week / From 1 May 2014Lake Eucumbene - Total / 2 258 / +22 / Snowy-Murray / +3 / 205
Snowy-Murray Component / 1 076 / +31 / Tooma-Tumut / +1 / 181
Target Storage / 1 510 / Net Diversion / 2 / 24
Murray 1 Release / +7 / 430
Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) *
New South Wales / This Week / From 1 July 2014 / Victoria / This Week / From 1 July 2014Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) / 15.8 / 386 / Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) / 6.2 / 131
Wakool Sys Allowance / 0.0 / 24 / Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) / 10.9 / 335
Western Murray Irrigation / 0.8 / 10 / Sunraysia Pumped Districts / 3 / 46
Licensed Pumps / 5.9 / 117 / Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) / 1.3 / 23
Lower Darling / 2.3 / 29 / Licensed pumps - LMW / 6 / 102
TOTAL / 24.8 / 566 / TOTAL / 27.4 / 637
* 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 / 217.0 *
Flow this week / 62.1 / (8 900 ML/day)
Flow so far this month / 91.3
Flow last month / 299.2
Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C)
Current / Average over the last week / Average since 1 August 2014Swan Hill / 50 / 70 / 90
Euston / 110 / 110 / 110
Red Cliffs / 130 / 110 / 130
Merbein / 110 / 110 / 130
Burtundy (Darling) / 840 / 830 / 790
Lock 9 / 120 / 120 / 140
Lake Victoria / 220 / 220 / 210
Berri / 200 / 200 / 220
Waikerie / 290 / 320 / 300
Morgan / 310 / 310 / 290
Mannum / 340 / 340 / 330
Murray Bridge / 330 / 340 / 370
Milang (Lake Alex.) / 720 / 740 / 740
Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) / 590 / 580 / 570
Meningie (Lake Alb.) / 2 390 / 2 410 / 2 310
Goolwa Barrages / 1 010 / 1 010 / 1 140
River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 10 Dec 2014
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 / - / - / - / 1 970 / R / 2 510 / 1 330
Jingellic / 4.0 / 1.69 / 208.21 / 4 320 / F / 4 020 / 2 350
Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) / 4.2 / 3.00 / 219.89 / 7 190 / F / 7 300 / 7 190
Heywoods / 5.5 / 2.78 / 156.41 / 11 270 / R / 12 950 / 13 950
Doctors Point / 5.5 / 2.84 / 151.31 / 12 880 / R / 13 560 / 14 090
Albury / 4.3 / 1.83 / 149.27 / - / - / - / -
Corowa / 3.8 / 2.62 / 128.64 / 11 460 / F / 15 090 / 13 790
Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) / 6.4 / 1.67 / 116.71 / 10 170 / R / 10 030 / 10 840
Tocumwal / 6.4 / 2.29 / 106.13 / 9 680 / S / 9 610 / 10 360
Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 2.48 / 81.03 / 7 330 / F / 7 340 / 9 530
Swan Hill / 4.5 / 1.41 / 64.33 / 7 500 / R / 7 440 / 10 970
Wakool Junction / 8.8 / 3.42 / 52.54 / 9 740 / F / 11 010 / 12 820
Euston Weir (d/s) / 8.8 / 1.96 / 43.80 / 10 780 / F / 12 030 / 11 730
Mildura Weir (d/s) / - / - / - / - / - / -
Wentworth Weir (d/s) / 7.3 / 3.22 / 27.98 / 12 210 / F / 12 450 / 9 890
Rufus Junction / - / 3.73 / 20.66 / 7 980 / F / 8 160 / 9 000
Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) / - / 0.85 / - / 6 740 / R / 6 600 / 7 710
Tributaries
Kiewa at Bandiana / 2.7 / 1.35 / 154.58 / 990 / F / 820 / 460
Ovens at Wangaratta / 11.9 / 8.17 / 145.85 / 1 050 / F / 920 / 650
Goulburn at McCoys Bridge / 9.0 / 1.52 / 92.94 / 1 000 / S / 1 010 / 1 950
Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) / - / 2.42 / 82.19 / 2 670 / F / 2 630 / 2 610
Edward at Liewah / - / 2.96 / 58.34 / 2 520 / S / 2 540 / 2 530
Wakool at Stoney Crossing / - / 1.57 / 55.06 / 790 / F / 790 / 750
Murrumbidgee at Balranald / 5.0 / 1.98 / 57.94 / 1 530 / R / 1 450 / 1 530
Barwon at Mungindi / - / 2.56 / - / 0 / F / 0 / 0
Darling at Bourke / - / 3.94 / - / 10 / S / 10 / 20
Darling at Burtundy Rocks / - / 0.66 / - / 40 / F / 50 / 80
Natural Inflow to Hume / 6 110 / 3 130
(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 / -0.02 / - / No. 7 Rufus River / 22.10 / +0.04 / +1.42
No. 26 Torrumbarry / 86.05 / +0.00 / - / No. 6 Murtho / 19.25 / -0.02 / +0.19
No. 15 Euston / 47.60 / +0.14 / - / No. 5 Renmark / 16.30 / +0.03 / +0.32
No. 11 Mildura / 34.40 / +0.02 / +0.40 / No. 4 Bookpurnong / 13.20 / +0.05 / +0.89
No. 10 Wentworth / 30.80 / +0.06 / +0.58 / No. 3 Overland Corner / 9.80 / +0.02 / +0.29
No. 9 Kulnine / 27.40 / +0.03 / +0.16 / No. 2 Waikerie / 6.10 / +0.05 / +0.26
No. 8 Wangumma / 24.60 / +0.06 / +0.23 / No. 1 Blanchetown / 3.20 / -0.01 / +0.10
Lower LakesFSL = 0.75 m AHD
Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) / 0.69Barrages Fishways at Barrages
Openings / Level (m AHD) / No. Open / Rock Ramp / Vertical SlotGoolwa / 128 openings / 0.66 / 3 / - / Open
Mundoo / 26 openings / 0.59 / All closed / - / -
Boundary Creek / 6 openings / - / 0.1 / - / -
Ewe Island / 111 gates / - / All closed / - / -
Tauwitchere / 322 gates / 0.67 / 5 / 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 10 Dec 2014
State Allocations (as at 10 Dec 2014)
NSW - Murray Valley / Victorian - Murray ValleyHigh security / 97%
General security / 45%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW – MurrumbidgeeValley / Victorian - GoulburnValley
High security / 95%
General security / 40%
/ High reliability / 100%
Low reliability / 0%
NSW - Lower Darling / South Australia – MurrayValley
High security / 100%
General security / 100%
/ High security / 100%
NSW : /
VIC : /
SA : /
BROKEN HILL/MENINDEE WATER SECURITY PROJECT BULLETIN
11 December 2014
Water NSW is working in conjunction with the NSW Office of Water to effectively manage the remaining water supplies in the Menindee Lakes.
Overview:
Water NSW is now project managing a number of projects aimed at securing town water supply for Broken Hill, Menindee and Sunset Strip.
The measures are intended to extend the available water supply for Broken Hill for another 12 months while longer term options are investigated and implemented.
Information sessions for the public were held in Pooncarie on 8 December and Menindee on 9 December. Presentations were delivered by Water NSW and the NSW Office of Water. Both meetings were very well attended.
In November the NSW Government announced a further $400 million to deliver infrastructure to secure Broken Hill’s water supply. It is understood options include a pipeline from the Murray River.
Copi Hollow/Lake Pamamaroo works:
Work on a block bank in the Copi Hollow inlet channel from Lake Pamamaroo is complete.
Dredging of Lake Pamamaroo is also complete and will enable greater access to the lake’s water stocks.
Pumping into Copi Hollow from Pamamaroo commenced on Saturday (15 November) with 290ML/day currently being transferred. As of Tuesday 9 December in excess of 6,800ML had been transferred into Copi Hollow. Pumping is likely to extend slightly longer than anticipated to accommodate losses from wetting up the storage banks and evaporation.
The project aims to fill Copi Hollow (12 gigalitres) which should provide sufficient water to meet supply for Broken Hill users for the next 12 months.
Lake Tandure/Lake Wetherell works:
Works are being progressed to transfer a portion of the remaining water supplies from Lake Tandure to a more efficient water storage within the river channel of Lake Wetherell. Similar works have been undertaken in previous drought events.
A small, temporary earthen block bank was completed last week in the artificial channel between Lake Tandure and Lake Wetherell. Dredging is well advanced, and may possibly be completed by Christmas. A temporary pumping station will be installed and operational by the end of next week to lift up to 15 gigalitres from Lake Tandure into Lake Wetherell.
Water security for Lower Darling users:
Sites have been identified as suitable for the construction of block banks, and project scoping to do so is now underway. The block banks will hold back water to sustain permanent plantings, as well as provide for essential stock and domestic supplies for landholders.
Water NSW is currently undertaking environmental assessment and planning for the construction of these block banks early next year.
Water NSW is also in the process of engaging a Contractor to construct the block banks, once approval of the environmental assessment is given.
Borefield:
The NSW Office of Water has been undertaking groundwater investigations in order to find water to secure a long term emergency town water supply for Broken Hill’s supply during times when there is insufficient surface water to meet that need.
Several government agencies are also involved in the planning, environmental and cultural heritage aspects of the project.
Drilling commenced at the proposed borefield site on Saturday, 29 November with local aboriginal community monitors on site. Currently the crew has drilled down 160m. It is anticipated that this work will be completed by 14 December, including the initial pump tests.
Water NSW has been asked to project manage the remainder of these investigations, along with investigating other alternative water sources to meet the critical water needs of the community if the drought continues into 2016.
Background:
Severe drought conditions in central Queensland over the past 2-3 years have dramatically reduced water feeding in to the Murray-Darling system in Northern NSW.
This has in turn greatly reduced inflows into the Darling River system which feeds into Menindee Lakes. There is currently no flow in the upper Darling River and the water storages in the north are now very low and expected to be empty by the end of February 2015.
Evaporation is a major factor in diminishing quality and quantity of water in the Menindee Lakes (see Table 1 and Table 2 below).
Table 1 - Current storage volume, flow and salinity levels of the Menindee Lakes
Current(Ml) / volume / Flow(Ml/day) / Salinity(uS/cm)LakeCawndilla / 67,485 / 250 / 937
Weir32 / n/a / 164 / 745
LakeMenindee / 0 / n/a / 0
CopiHollow / 7,625 / 290 / 654
LakePamamaroo / 87,330 / n/a / 676
LakeTandure Wetherell / 56,001 / n/a / Outlet–1,290
Upstream–1,594
Table2 - WateravailableforBrokenHill/LowerDarling
Storagevolume 2/12/14 / Storagevolume10/12/14 / Releasesforcustomers / Evaporation157,759ML / 150,956 / 1,600 ML / 5,203ML
OnlyLakeWetherellandLakePamamarooareavailabletoprovidewatertocustomers
Contact:
TonyWebberBunty Driver
WaterNSWNSWOfficeofWater
Ph:0268412006Ph: 02 6024 8871
Mob:0428613478Mob:0407403234
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