Zero Allocations for Start of 2010/11 Season

Allocation Data

Seasonal allocations for Goulburn-Murray Water customers on 1 Jul 2010:

Further Information

Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW), Resource Manager for northern Victorian water systems, today announced all systems will start the 2010/11 season with zero allocations. This is the fourth consecutive year that all systems have started the new water year without an allocation.

Mark Bailey, Acting Resource Manager with G-MW, confirmed resources in northern Victoria are insufficient to meet all system operating requirements for the year. While storages are holding more water than this time last year, a large portion of the water is held as private carryover. The shortfalls to making an allocation are lower than what they were 12 months ago, indicating that May and June inflows have been better than those experienced last year.

"The systems have enough water to deliver essential human needs, but further inflows are needed to meet operating requirements for the entire year. Allocations will be made when there is enough water to meet the remaining operating requirements to deliver allocation carried over from last season," said Dr Bailey.

"The rainfall last week fell on wet catchments, which has generated some beneficial inflows." said Dr Bailey. "Now that the catchments are wetter, more follow up rain is needed to take advantage of favourable catchment conditions to generate further inflows."

Qualification of Rights

The qualified rights which applied last year again apply this year which allows water to be taken for the supply of essential human needs and stock watering where carryover water cannot provide for these purposes. The water corporations responsible for rural deliveries, including G-MW and Lower Murray Water, will run advertisements in local media summarising the purpose of the qualifications. Further details are available on the G-MW website (www.g-mwater.com.au).

Access to Carryover and Irrigation Season Start

"Customers can access their carryover allocation when the delivery system is operational in their area. This will only happen when the water corporations have covered the system operating requirements for the area and developed operating plans for the delivery systems," said Dr Bailey. "The Goulburn and Murray rivers will run throughout 2010/11, but there are currently insufficient resources to allow full operation of the channel distribution systems and piped supply systems. The resources in the other northern Victorian systems currently provide for qualified rights, but only limited delivery of carryover. Irrigators with early season requirements should confirm the operating arrangements with their local water corporation."

"All future resource improvements will be directed to meet the remaining system operating requirements until they are fully met. G-MW will update the status of operating ability in the next allocation announcement. The start of the irrigation season in the channel distribution systems will depend on demand and the ability to deliver carryover." said Dr Bailey.

Spillable Water Accounts

G-MW in its role as Resource Manager, has declared that the probability of spill this season at Lake Eildon, Dartmouth Reservoir and Lake Eppalock is low. Dr Bailey advised that this declaration meant that water currently held in Spillable Water Accounts would be made available in Allocation Bank Accounts effective with this announcement.

2010/11 Outlooks

The 2010/11 outlooks presented below are based on observed inflows in seasons following similar early winter inflows.

The following terminology is used in the tables:

            ‘Wet'               - Inflow volumes that have 1 chance in 10 of being exceeded

            ‘Average'         - Inflow volumes that have 5 chances in 10 of being exceeded

            ‘Dry'                - Inflow volumes that have 9 chances in 10 of being exceeded

Murray System

Goulburn System (Note: Allocations consider the reserve policy and include the benefit of Pumping from Waranga Basin while allocations are lower than 30%)

Broken System

Campaspe System

Loddon System

The seasonal allocations for northern Victorian water systems on Thursday 1 July 2010 are:

The next allocation announcement and outlook will be issued on Thursday 15 July 2010.