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RIVER MURRAY WEEKLY REPORT FOR THE WEEKS ENDING WEDNESDAY, 28 DECEMBER 2016 & 4 JANUARY 2017 Trim Ref: D17/426 Rainfall and inflows The south-west and north-east parts of the Basin received the most rainfall in the week ending 28 December. The highest totals were recorded in Queensland, north east NSW and South Australia while western NSW remained dry, see Map 1.

Map 1 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall week ending 28th December 2016 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

In the week ending 3 January, an inland surface trough extended from western Queensland through to eastern New South Wales. A very moist, tropical airflow over eastern Queensland produced moderate to heavy rainfall about parts of the east coast of Queensland and northeastern New South Wales.

A trough over the northern parts of Australia resulted in showers and thunderstorms where a broad low pressure trough stretched from the Northern Territory to South Australia. A deep low and associated cold front in the Great Australian Bight moved eastwards, with showers and thunderstorms producing moderate to heavy falls in central and eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales, see Map 2.

Rainfall totals between 100 mm and 200 mm were recorded in an area of north-eastern New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria. Falls in north-east Victoria fell largely on 30–31 December with Mt Hotham recording 158 mm of rain on 30 December alone.

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Map 2 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall week ending 4th January 2017 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

Rainfall this week resulted in short-lived flow increases in the upper catchments. At Hinnomunjie, on the Mitta Mitta River upstream of Dartmouth Reservoir, the flow peaked at 6,075 ML/day and has since receded to 700 ML/day. Biggara on the upper Murray briefly reached 1,650 ML/day before receding to 620 ML/day. The flow from the Kiewa reached 2,570 ML/day and has now fallen to 1,140 ML/day. The flow in the Ovens River at Wangaratta peaked close to 5,500 ML/day before receding to 1,950 ML/day.

December 2016 summary Average rainfall was recorded across much of the Basin during December 2016, see Map 3, however the notable exceptions were South Australia which recorded very much above average rainfall and the north-east part of the Basin which recorded below average rainfall. Across the Basin as a whole, the Bureau of Meteorology has reported that area-averaged rainfall for December was 45 mm. This total was 7% below the long-term mean and it ranked 60th for lowest December rainfall average observed during the past 117 years of record.

Temperatures during December 2016 were above average across the entire Basin, see Map 4. Temperatures were in the warmest decile (top 10% of records) across southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

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Map 3 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall deciles for December 2016 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

Map 4 – Mean temperature deciles for December 2016 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

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River Murray system inflows for December (excluding Snowy, Darling, IVT and environmental inflows) continued to decrease. The monthly total of around 570 GL is similar to the 550 GL recorded in December 2011 and the highest for December since 2010 (with inflows of around 3,000 GL). Inflows were around 120 GL higher than the December long-term average of 450 GL (see the graph on page 14). In comparison with the historical record since 1891, only about 23% of previous Decembers have recorded higher inflows than December 2016.

Estimated evaporation losses from MDBA storages for December 2016 are reported in Table 1. Evaporation is estimated by multiplying the surface area of the storage by the net evaporation. Net evaporation is derived by subtracting the rainfall recorded at the storage from the calculated evaporation. Table 1: Monthly evaporation figures for MDBA storages

Storage *Approximate (net) evaporative

loss in December 2016 (GL)

Average storage volume in December 2016 (GL)

Percentage net evaporative loss in

December 2016 Dartmouth 6 2983 0.2 Hume 36 2830 1.3 Lake Victoria 18 652 2.8 Menindee Lakes 115.7** 1542 7.5

* Evaporative loss from storage = surface area of the storage x net evaporation. Net evaporation = measured evaporation (using a ‘pan’ instrument) - rainfall.

** Figure from Operational status report – Menindee Lakes and averaged over 31 days, see attached Menindee Lakes Media release

2016 annual summary One of the strongest El Niño’s on record brought warm and dry conditions in the beginning of the year, before breaking down during autumn. Australia often experiences above average rainfall during the months following the breakdown of a moderate-to-strong El Niño, and in 2016 this tendency was reinforced by a strong negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) which developed in late May. Combined with very warm waters north of Australia and a La Niña-like Pacific Ocean these climate influences were associated with the wettest May to September period on record for Australia.

Rainfall during 2016 was above average to very much above average for the southern basin and average to above average in the northern basin, see Map 5.

2016 was Australia’s fourth warmest year on record, with the annual national mean temperature 0.87⁰C above average. Annual mean temperatures were above to very much above average across the Basin, see Map 6. March and autumn as a whole were the warmest on record for Australian mean temperature.

River Murray system inflows for 2016 (excluding Snowy, Darling, IVT and environmental inflows) were around 14,500 GL (compared with only 3,100 GL in 2016 and the long-term average of 9,100 GL). In comparison with the historical record since 1891, only about 12% of years have recorded higher inflows than 2016.

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Map 5 - Murray-Darling Basin rainfall deciles for December 2016 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

Map 6 – Mean temperature deciles for 2016 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

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River operations

What’s driving River Operations at the moment?

There is a warm dry outlook for the next three months, high state allocations and a large volume of water available in Menindee Lakes which will have a significant influence on our operations over summer and into autumn.

The Bureau of Meteorology three month rainfall outlook from January to March forecasts below average rainfall in parts of headwater catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin coupled with warmer days across eastern Australia. The current outlook reflects a negative Southern Annular Mode, and warmer waters to the northwest of Australia.

Map 7 – Three month rainfall outlook for January to March 2017 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology)

With warm dry weather forecast and state allocations at 100% (high reliability and high security) demands along the Murray are expected to be high over summer and autumn. River Murray Operations will continue to meet high demands over summer in the most efficient way possible which means releases from Menindee Lakes are being increased, see attached media release.

Menindee Lakes has the highest evaporation rates of all the MDBA storages - or to put it another way it’s the least efficient place to store water in the River Murray system (as shown in Table 1, page 4). One of our highest priorities for the River Murray system is the conservation of water. We store water in the most efficient storages (like Hume and Dartmouth) and use water from the least efficient storage, Menindee Lakes, where we can. When making releases from Menindee Lakes we manage the lakes in conjunction with WaterNSW to safeguard Broken Hill’s water supply.

• High lake levels provide good recreational amenity • Menindee Lakes releases will be increased this week • Goulburn IVT delivery to begin • Localised salinity spike between Berri and Blanchetown

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Meeting demands from Menindee Lakes means less water is released from the upper storages such as Dartmouth and Hume so it can be used in dry times. Conserving water in the most upstream storages provides for the greatest flexibility to meet future demands in the system as water released from the top can meet demands all the way down. Whereas, Menindee Lakes can only meet demands at the bottom of the system.

With water available in Menindee Lakes, and in the Goulburn and Murrumbidgee Inter-Valley Trade accounts (IVT), flows along the upper Murray this summer and autumn are forecast to be less than recent years as less water is required from the upstream storages Dartmouth and Hume to meet demands downstream of the choke. This is already evident at a number of locations described in the River Operations section below.

River Operations

At the end of the week the total active MDBA total storage was 7,196 GL (84% capacity).

Dartmouth Reservoir increased 17 GL over the last two weeks and is now currently holding 3,006 GL (78% capacity). The release, measured at Colemans gauge, is currently 300 ML/day. The current release is much less than last year when releases were above 6,500 ML/day in order to transfer water to Hume.

At Hume Reservoir, the volume in storage fell 52 GL over the week of Christmas but only 1 GL over the week of New Years and is now 2,746 GL (91% capacity). Hume volume fell only 1 GL over the New Year period as inflows into Hume increased due to rain and the releases from Hume were wound back to 6,000 ML/day. Releases are now over 9,000 ML/day again.

The reductions in Hume releases had a significant effect on the river levels downstream at Corowa where the flow reduced from 16,000 ML/day on Christmas Day to a low of 9,400 ML/day on 1 January 2017 (a corresponding drop of about 1 metre).

Releases were reduced to conserve water in Hume for the following reasons:

• Irrigation orders from Lake Mulwala reduced due to forecast storms for 30 and 31 December. Mulwala Canal orders reduced from 4,000 ML/day to 2,600 ML/day and Yarrawonga Main Channel reduced from over 1,600 ML/day to 750 ML/day. Orders from Lake Mulwala are also lower than expected for this time of year given the high allocations.

• Heavy thunderstorms on 30 and 31 December resulted in large rainfall totals on the mountain ranges in the Ovens and Kiewa catchments and increased tributary inflows that met some of the irrigation demand that would otherwise have been met by Hume releases.

• Demands downstream of Yarrawonga reduced over the last two weeks. Releases downstream of Yarrawonga reduced from 13,000 ML/day on 21 December to 8,500 ML/day on 4 January.

The reductions in Hume releases, inflows from Kiewa and Ovens and lower demands resulted in varied Lake Mulwala weir pool levels over the last two weeks, however the level remained within the normal operating range and provided recreational amenity. Over the last two weeks the level ranged from 124.89 m AHD (close to the FSL of 124.9) on 27 December to a low of 124.72 m AHD on 2 January. The weir pool is now 124.76 m AHD.

During late December, environmental demands were reduced downstream of Yarrawonga. Environmental water was being released to slow the recession through the Barmah-Millewa forest, support bird breeding and environmental outcomes further downstream, see photo 1. Now, the current release from Yarrawonga is 8,000 ML/day, including about 1,000 ML/day of environmental water being provided for large bodied native fish and continued bird breeding in the Barmah-Millewa forest and sites further downstream. The target flow of 8,000 ML/day is expected to continue in January. Currently, around 7,000 ML/day is required downstream of Yarrawonga to meet operational demands (compared to over 10,000 ML/day this time last year).

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On the Edward River system, the flow through the Edward and Gulpa offtakes is about 1,600 ML/day and 500 ML/day, respectively. Downstream at Stevens Weir the flow has receded from 1,600 ML/day on 21 December to 600 ML/day on 4 January. This time last year the flow downstream of Stevens Weir was close to the channel capacity of 2,600 ML/day.

Photo 1 – Angry birds taken to the next level – a Royal Spoonbill captured on camera raising its chicks (Source: Barmah-Millewa trail camera GBCMA)

On the Goulburn River at McCoys Bridge, the flow increased from around 900 ML/day on 28 December to 4,200 ML/day on 3 January due to rain in the Goulburn catchment. Organic matter from the Seven, Castle and Pranjip Creeks washed into the Goulburn River during the event. The Goulburn River near Shepparton now looks darker than usual due to blackwater in parts of the river and has resulted in reduced oxygen levels in some areas.

The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA) is coordinating the response to this blackwater event. With the support of Goulburn-Murray Water, the GBCMA is working to help replenish dissolved oxygen levels and disperse the slug of dark water. For more information about blackwater in the Goulburn River, visit the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority’s website www.gbcma.vic.gov.au.

The flow at Barmah, above the confluence with the Goulburn, is around 8,500 ML/day and more than double the flow at McCoys. Therefore the low dissolved oxygen water from the Goulburn, being an isolated source, is not expected to result in low dissolved oxygen levels in the Murray, as occurred after the flooding in spring.

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Inter-Valley trade water from the Goulburn River will be released over the coming week to assist in meeting demands downstream of the choke. The target flow rate at McCoys will be around 1,500 ML/day for most of January once the current higher flows recede.

At Torrumbarry Weir, the diversion to National Channel has been steady at about 2,300 ML/day. This includes a small component of environmental water to maintain higher flows in Gunbower Creek for juvenile Murray Cod development. The majority of this environmental flow will return to the River Murray upstream of Barham and will be used to help meet downstream demands. The release from the weir is currently around 7,900 ML/day.

On the lower Murrumbidgee River, the flow at Balranald has receded over the last two weeks from around 8,000 ML/day to 4,000 ML/day. A proportion of this flow is environmental water benefiting ecology in the lower Murrumbidgee and further downstream into South Australia.

Downstream on the Murray at Euston, flow is now 16,500 ML/day down from 24,000 ML/day two weeks ago. The flow is expected to further recede to around 11,000 ML/day over the coming week.

Over the last two weeks, total storage in Menindee Lakes has reduced 51 GL and is now 1,508 GL (87% capacity). Releases, measured at Weir 32, have averaged around 1,800 ML/day. A portion of this release is environmental water aimed at supporting the growth and dispersal of Murray Cod that have spawned in the Lower Darling River over the past few months.

Releases of environmental water from Weir 32 will cease next week as the MDBA directs WaterNSW to increase operational releases from Menindee Lakes in accordance with the water sharing rules. Releases will continue as needed until the end of the irrigation season unless the lakes reach 480 GL (about 28% capacity). Releases will be gradually increased on Monday from 1,800 ML/day, reaching a peak of around 6,500 ML/day next Friday 13 January, see attached media release.

On the Murray at Locks 9, 8 and 7 the weir pools are currently targeting full supply level.

At Lake Victoria, the storage volume has reduced by 46 GL over the past two weeks to 610 GL (90% capacity) and is forecast to continue decreasing over coming months if conditions are dry.

Unregulated flows to South Australia finished on the 31 December 2016 and the flow across the border averaged 18,000 ML/day for the first week of January. This flow comprised entitlement, additional dilution flow and environmental water for the lower Murray.

There is currently a localised salinity spike in the lower Murray particularly between Berri and Blanchetown. There are also some salinity hot spots upstream of Berri where backwaters and wetlands are connected to the main River Murray channel. The majority of salt has been generated within SA. The increase in salinity is expected to only last a few weeks and salt levels are not expected to rise significantly during that time, see attached media release.

The high flows from the flood beginning September and October are still passing through SA. At the Lower Lakes, the 5-day average level in Lake Alexandrina has remained over 0.80 m AHD during the last two weeks despite barrage releases averaging around 70,000 ML/day.

DAVID DREVERMAN Executive Director, River Management

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Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 28 Dec 2016

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 3 856 471.82 2 994 78% 71 2 923 +5 Hume Reservoir 192.00 3 005 190.68 2 747 91% 23 2 724 -52 Lake Victoria 27.00 677 26.60 629 93% 100 529 -27 Menindee Lakes 1 731* 1 537 89% (480 #) 1 057 -22 Total 9 269 7 907 85% - - 7 233 -96 Total Active MDBA Storage 84% ^ Major State Storages Burrinjuck Reservoir 1 026 980 95% 3 977 +4 Blowering Reservoir 1 631 1 525 94% 24 1 501 -51 Eildon Reservoir 3 334 2 626 79% 100 2 526 -15

* Menindee surcharge capacity – 2050 GL ** All Data is rounded to nearest GL ** # NSW has sole access to water when the storage falls below 480 GL. MDBA regains access to water when the storage next reaches 640 GL. ^ % of total active MDBA storage

Snowy Mountains Scheme Snowy diversions for week ending 27 Dec 2016 Storage Active Storage

(GL) Weekly Change

(GL) Diversion (GL) This Week From 1 May 2016

Lake Eucumbene - Total 1 950 -51 Snowy-Murray +20 859 Snowy-Murray Component 885 -17 Tooma-Tumut +6 317 Target Storage 1 510 Net Diversion 14 542 Murray 1 Release +23 1 238

Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) * New South Wales This Week From 1 July

2016 Victoria This Week From 1 July 2016

Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) 34.5 336 Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) 7.4 73 Wakool Sys Allowance -1.1 -1 Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) 12.6 168 Western Murray Irrigation 1.2 8 Sunraysia Pumped Districts 5.9 39 Licensed Pumps 8.4 77 Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) 0.7 8 Lower Darling 0.1 2 Licensed pumps - LMW 7.7 127 TOTAL 43.1 422 TOTAL 34.3 415

* Figures are derived from actual and estimates where data is unavailable. 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 unregulated flows.

Entitlement this month 217.0 * Flow this week 187.7 (26 800 ML/day) Flow so far this month 1,859.8 Flow last month 2,195.7

Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C) Current Average over the last week Average since 1 August 2016 Swan Hill 100 100 140 Euston - - - Red Cliffs 200 210 160 Merbein - 210 160 Burtundy (Darling) 380 370 680 Lock 9 230 220 170 Lake Victoria 210 210 180 Berri 250 240 200 Waikerie 400 300 230 Morgan 300 290 230 Mannum 300 320 240 Murray Bridge 310 330 250 Milang (Lake Alex.) 340 340 560 Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) 390 400 320 Meningie (Lake Alb.) 1 530 1 520 1 770 Goolwa Barrages 350 350 1 300

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River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 28 Dec 2016

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 - - - 5 340 R 3 850 4 880 Jingellic 4.0 1.79 208.31 4 890 R 4 760 6 940 Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) 4.2 1.56 218.45 950 R 880 920 Heywoods 5.5 2.57 156.20 9 800 F 13 000 14 590 Doctors Point 5.5 2.66 151.13 10 850 F 14 410 16 660 Albury 4.3 1.66 149.10 - - - - Corowa 4.6 2.80 128.82 12 820 F 15 290 16 080 Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) 6.4 1.87 116.91 12 040 R 11 650 13 390 Tocumwal 6.4 2.61 106.45 13 030 R 13 500 15 360 Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) 7.3 2.57 81.11 7 890 S 7 730 7 550 Swan Hill 4.5 1.48 64.40 7 860 S 7 790 7 980 Wakool Junction 8.8 3.32 52.44 9 570 S 10 350 14 750 Euston Weir (d/s) 9.1 3.03 44.87 18 640 F 20 420 28 150 Mildura Weir (d/s) - - 19 430 F 21 090 32 440 Wentworth Weir (d/s) 7.3 3.90 28.66 19 090 F 21 620 40 250 Rufus Junction - 5.55 22.48 23 310 F 26 200 59 980 Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) - 4.28 - 79 600 F 80 770 77 470 Tributaries Kiewa at Bandiana 2.8 1.01 154.24 550 R 650 1 030 Ovens at Wangaratta 11.9 8.21 145.89 1 130 R 1 190 1 410 Goulburn at McCoys Bridge 9.0 1.48 92.90 940 R 900 990 Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) 5.5 1.57 81.34 1 430 S 1 490 1 810 Edward at Liewah - 2.33 57.71 1 640 F 1 790 2 350 Wakool at Stoney Crossing - 1.99 55.48 2 290 F 2 420 2 900 Murrumbidgee at Balranald 5.0 4.92 60.88 6 500 F 7 240 9 150 Barwon at Mungindi 6.1 3.31 - 300 R 210 50 Darling at Bourke 9.0 4.12 - 410 F 520 740 Darling at Burtundy Rocks - 1.15 - 1 390 S 1 420 1 600 Natural Inflow to Hume 4 920 4 550

(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 -0.01 - No. 7 Rufus River 22.10 -0.01 +3.22 No. 26 Torrumbarry 86.05 +0.00 - No. 6 Murtho 19.25 -0.38 +1.58 No. 15 Euston 47.60 +0.05 - No. 5 Renmark 16.30 +0.04 +1.60 No. 11 Mildura 34.40 +0.02 +0.82 No. 4 Bookpurnong 13.20 +0.26 +3.50 No. 10 Wentworth 30.80 +0.03 +1.26 No. 3 Overland Corner 9.80 +0.71 +4.32 No. 9 Kulnine 27.40 +0.12 +0.79 No. 2 Waikerie 6.10 +1.84 +4.70 No. 8 Wangumma 24.60 -0.06 +1.45 No. 1 Blanchetown 3.20 +1.18 +3.53

Lower Lakes FSL = 0.75 m AHD

Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) 0.83

Barrages Fishways at Barrages

Openings Level (m AHD) No. Open Rock Ramp

Vertical Slot 1 Vertical Slot 2

Dual Vertical Slots

Goolwa 128 openings 0.73 90 - Open Open - Mundoo 26 openings 0.64 6 - - - Open Hunters Creek - - - - Open - - Boundary Creek 6 openings - All closed - Open - - Ewe Island 111 gates - 52 - - - Open Tauwitchere 322 gates 0.81 130 Open Open Open -

AHD = Level relative to Australian Height Datum, i.e. height above sea level

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Week ending Wednesday 28 Dec 2016

State Allocations (as at 28 Dec 2016)

NSW - Murray Valley Victorian - Murray Valley High security 100% General security 100%

High reliability 100% Low reliability 0%

NSW – Murrumbidgee Valley

Victorian - Goulburn Valley High security 100% General security 100%

High reliability 100% Low reliability 0%

NSW - Lower Darling

South Australia – Murray Valley High security 100% General security 100%

High security 100%

NSW : http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/water-management/water-availability VIC : http://nvrm.net.au/seasonal-determinations/current SA : http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/managing-natural-resources/river-murray

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Water in Storage Week ending Wednesday 04 Jan 2017

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 3 856 472.04 3 006 78% 71 2 935 +12 Hume Reservoir 192.00 3 005 190.68 2 746 91% 23 2 723 -1 Lake Victoria 27.00 677 26.45 610 90% 100 510 -19 Menindee Lakes 1 731* 1 508 87% (480 #) 1 028 -29 Total 9 269 7 870 85% - - 7 196 -36 Total Active MDBA Storage 84% ^ Major State Storages Burrinjuck Reservoir 1 026 982 96% 3 979 +3 Blowering Reservoir 1 631 1 544 95% 24 1 520 +18 Eildon Reservoir 3 334 2 614 78% 100 2 514 -12

* Menindee surcharge capacity – 2050 GL ** All Data is rounded to nearest GL ** # NSW has sole access to water when the storage falls below 480 GL. MDBA regains access to water when the storage next reaches 640 GL. ^ % of total active MDBA storage

Snowy Mountains Scheme Snowy diversions for week ending 03 Jan 2017 Storage Active Storage

(GL) Weekly Change

(GL) Diversion (GL) This Week From 1 May 2016

Lake Eucumbene - Total 1 931 n/a Snowy-Murray +14 873 Snowy-Murray Component 887 n/a Tooma-Tumut +3 320 Target Storage 1 520 Net Diversion 11 553 Murray 1 Release +20 1 258

Major Diversions from Murray and Lower Darling (GL) * New South Wales This Week From 1 July

2016 Victoria This Week From 1 July 2016

Murray Irrig. Ltd (Net) 30.7 366 Yarrawonga Main Channel (net) 7.5 80 Wakool Sys Allowance -0.1 -1 Torrumbarry System + Nyah (net) 12.6 180 Western Murray Irrigation 1.1 10 Sunraysia Pumped Districts 4 43 Licensed Pumps 8.1 85 Licensed pumps - GMW (Nyah+u/s) 0.5 8 Lower Darling 0.1 3 Licensed pumps - LMW 20 147 TOTAL 39.9 463 TOTAL 44.6 458

* Figures are derived from actual and estimates where data is unavailable. 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 unregulated flows.

Entitlement this month 217.0 * Flow this week 136.8 (19 500 ML/day) Flow so far this month 71.4 Flow last month 1,925.1

Salinity (EC) (microSiemens/cm at 25o C) Current Average over the last week Average since 1 August 2016 Swan Hill 110 100 140 Euston - - - Red Cliffs 200 200 160 Merbein 210 200 160 Burtundy (Darling) 400 390 670 Lock 9 220 220 170 Lake Victoria 220 220 180 Berri 300 280 200 Waikerie 750 640 250 Morgan 710 560 240 Mannum 440 350 240 Murray Bridge 380 320 250 Milang (Lake Alex.) 360 350 550 Poltalloch (Lake Alex.) 360 370 320 Meningie (Lake Alb.) 1 710 1 630 1 760 Goolwa Barrages 410 390 1 260

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River Levels and Flows Week ending Wednesday 04 Jan 2017

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 - - - 1 050 F 3 490 3 850 Jingellic 4.0 1.53 208.05 2 970 F 6 090 4 760 Tallandoon ( Mitta Mitta River ) 4.2 1.56 218.45 930 F 1 200 880 Heywoods 5.5 2.52 156.15 9 250 F 8 150 13 000 Doctors Point 5.5 2.65 151.12 10 850 F 10 220 14 410 Albury 4.3 1.65 149.09 - - - - Corowa 4.6 2.63 128.65 11 690 R 10 580 15 290 Yarrawonga Weir (d/s) 6.4 1.44 116.48 8 520 F 9 750 11 650 Tocumwal 6.4 2.27 106.11 10 380 F 11 940 13 500 Torrumbarry Weir (d/s) 7.3 2.56 81.11 7 890 R 7 670 7 730 Swan Hill 4.5 1.44 64.36 7 600 F 7 910 7 790 Wakool Junction 8.8 2.88 52.00 7 550 F 8 940 10 350 Euston Weir (d/s) 9.1 2.77 44.61 16 500 S 17 380 20 420 Mildura Weir (d/s) - - 16 920 F 18 140 21 090 Wentworth Weir (d/s) 7.3 3.64 28.40 16 890 F 17 650 21 620 Rufus Junction - 4.91 21.84 16 870 R 18 390 26 200 Blanchetown (Lock 1 d/s) - 1.95 - 20 530 F 56 890 80 770 Tributaries Kiewa at Bandiana 2.8 1.43 154.66 1 140 F 1 470 650 Ovens at Wangaratta 11.9 8.56 146.24 1 970 F 2 960 1 190 Goulburn at McCoys Bridge 9.0 3.02 94.44 3 860 F 2 160 900 Edward at Stevens Weir (d/s) 5.5 0.86 80.63 630 F 980 1 490 Edward at Liewah - 2.11 57.49 1 390 F 1 500 1 790 Wakool at Stoney Crossing - 1.92 55.42 2 040 F 2 180 2 420 Murrumbidgee at Balranald 5.0 3.86 59.82 4 120 F 5 590 7 240 Barwon at Mungindi 6.1 3.14 - 20 R 90 210 Darling at Bourke 9.0 4.10 - 330 F 420 520 Darling at Burtundy Rocks - 1.17 - 1 420 R 1 390 1 420 Natural Inflow to Hume 8 640 4 920

(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 -0.14 - No. 7 Rufus River 22.10 -0.44 +2.58 No. 26 Torrumbarry 86.05 +0.00 - No. 6 Murtho 19.25 -0.04 +0.89 No. 15 Euston 47.60 +0.03 - No. 5 Renmark 16.30 -0.01 +0.83 No. 11 Mildura 34.40 +0.00 +0.61 No. 4 Bookpurnong 13.20 -0.02 +1.77 No. 10 Wentworth 30.80 +0.00 +1.00 No. 3 Overland Corner 9.80 +0.24 +1.38 No. 9 Kulnine 27.40 +0.07 +0.54 No. 2 Waikerie 6.10 +0.39 +1.52 No. 8 Wangumma 24.60 -0.01 +1.00 No. 1 Blanchetown 3.20 +0.31 +1.20

Lower Lakes FSL = 0.75 m AHD

Lake Alexandrina average level for the past 5 days (m AHD) 0.87

Barrages Fishways at Barrages

Openings Level (m AHD) No. Open Rock Ramp

Vertical Slot 1 Vertical Slot 2

Dual Vertical Slots

Goolwa 128 openings 0.68 90 - Open Open - Mundoo 26 openings 0.70 3 - - - Open Hunters Creek - - - - Open - - Boundary Creek 6 openings - 1 - Open - - Ewe Island 111 gates - 40 - - - Open Tauwitchere 322 gates 0.81 111 Open Open Open -

AHD = Level relative to Australian Height Datum, i.e. height above sea level

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Week ending Wednesday 04 Jan 2017

State Allocations (as at 04 Jan 2017)

NSW - Murray Valley Victorian - Murray Valley High security 100% General security 100%

High reliability 100% Low reliability 0%

NSW – Murrumbidgee Valley

Victorian - Goulburn Valley High security 100% General security 100%

High reliability 100% Low reliability 0%

NSW - Lower Darling

South Australia – Murray Valley High security 100% General security 100%

High security 100%

NSW : http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/water-management/water-availability VIC : http://nvrm.net.au/seasonal-determinations/current SA : http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/managing-natural-resources/river-murray

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5 January 2017

Media release Releases to increase from Menindee lakes WaterNSW will increase release rates from the Menindee lakes system next week to deliver water ordered by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), while operating the lakes to maximise future water security. WaterNSW Executive Manager System Operations, Adrian Langdon, said the Menindee lakes system was managed to supply licensed customers including Essential Water and Lower Darling landholders, as well as ensuring water security for customers along the Murray. Mr Langdon said WaterNSW would aim to maintain as much water in the upper two lakes as possible as drought contingency in line with established practice. “WaterNSW will continue sourcing the majority of the release volume from Lake Menindee, as well as a smaller amount from Lake Wetherell. “Lake Wetherell is currently at 125 per cent capacity so the intention is to lower the level to remove water from the flood plain to protect the health of the ecosystem. “WaterNSW’s recent operations have ensured that the upper lakes are full from last season’s inflows and Pamamaroo will be used as storage to meet future needs recognising that its level will fall due to evaporation,” Mr Langdon said. In accordance with the longstanding Murray-Lower Darling Water Sharing Plan, the MDBA has directed the release to provide for demand along the Lower Darling and for the Murray downstream of the Darling River confluence. MDBA head of river operations, David Dreverman, said high evaporation losses from the Menindee lakes meant the storages were used ahead of others, such as Dartmouth Dam. “It makes sense to use water from shallow storages first, Menindee releases over summer and autumn will enable hundreds of gigalitres of water to be reserved in Dartmouth Dam for use by the whole Murray valley in future years,” Mr Dreverman said. “Menindee lakes are shallow, and average around five metres deep and can evaporate at a rate of about two metres a year. “Safeguards are built into the water sharing arrangements so that the use of Menindee Lakes is limited to protect local New South Wales town water supply and lower Darling use once lake volumes fall below 480GL,” Mr Dreverman said.

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With operational releases about to commence, the delivery of environmental water for the Lower Darling fish flow event will be postponed until further notice. In the interim, WaterNSW is working closely with environmental water authorities to ensure pending operational releases will also benefit native fish in the lower Darling.

Contact WaterNSW: Tony Webber 0428 613 478 Contact MDBA media: 02 6279 0141 Operational status report – Menindee lakes

• From Monday (9 January) releases will increase from the current 1800 megalitres per day (ML/day), rising to 6500ML/day by Friday (13 January) and remain at this rate for up to three days.

• Releases will then be reduced to 5000ML/day by 19 January and remain at this rate until 24

January. Release rates are subject to change and will depend on operational conditions.

• Releases beyond 24 January will be reviewed in the coming fortnight as more information becomes available.

Storage Inflows (ML) from 1 Dec to 4

Jan

Initial Volume (ML)

1 Dec

Final Volume (ML)

4 Jan

Releases

(ML) from

1 Dec to 4 Jan

Evaporation

(ML) from

1 Dec to 4 Jan

Lake Wetherell 190,508 228,759 240,192

(125%)

45,310 32,827

Lake Pamamaroo

351,598 330,526

(120%)

0 22,359

Lake Menindee

551,327 438,830

(73%)

15,730 40,742

Lake Cawndilla

291,932 497,260

(91%)

0 34,729

Total Volume 190,508 1,423,617 1,506,808

90%

61,040 130,657

Current dam storage information is available on the WaterNSW website www.waternsw.com.au

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NEWS RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT Melissa Martin Senior Media Advisor

Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources

Phone (08) 8204 9105 Mobile 0467 795 640 melissa.martin3@sa.gov.au www.environment.sa.gov.au www.nrm.sa.gov.

Salinity levels rise as water levels drop in the Murray High flows are fast receding in SA’s River Murray – but at the same time, salinity levels are on the increase.

Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Water Resource Operations Manager Jarrod Eaton said the recent high flow event has moved salt from wetlands, floodplains and backwaters into the river.

“Salt is a natural part of the River Murray system, but too much salt can harm the environment.

“High flows are ecologically important to flush out salt of the landscape and support the long term health of the riverine environment.

“The recent decline in water levels has resulted in a salinity increase, particularly upstream between Berri and Blanchetown.

“There are also some salinity hot spots upstream of Berri where backwaters and wetlands are connected to the main River Murray channel.

“The majority of salt has been generated within SA. The increase in salinity is expected to only last a few weeks and salt levels are not expected to rise significantly during that time.

“To prevent damage to crops, irrigators should check salinity levels regularly and consider management strategies for plants at risk and in direct contact with river water.

“Irrigation should also be avoided in the heat of the day to reduce evaporation and subsequent higher salt concentrations.”

The flows peaked in the River Murray at the South Australian border at 95 GL a day on 30 November 2016 - the highest water levels seen in SA since 1993 when the flow peaked at 110 GL a day.

The flow at the South Australian border is currently 17 GL a day and is expected to remain steady during the coming week.

For further information about water levels and water quality visit the WaterConnect website.

More information about River Murray flows is available in the weekly Flow Report.