ALLOCATIONS

River Murray water allocations for holders of irrigation and similar entitlements have increased from 52 per cent to 89 per cent of entitlement. A timeline of 2016-17 water allocation decisions is provided in Figure 1.

The increase is in response to recent rainfall and improvements in the volume of water held in the Murray-Darling Basin Authority controlled storages.

In addition, we are currently receiving unregulated flows over and above Entitlement Flow. The unregulated flows have been generated by high rainfall and inflows from the Murrumbidgee, Goulburn, Ovens and Kiewa Rivers. These are all downstream of Hume Reservoir, meaning that due to current Lake Victoria operations, these inflows cannot be stored, and are therefore part of the unregulated flow event.

The current operation of Lake Victoria (consistent with the Lake Victoria Operating Strategy) means that water set aside by South Australia in Lake Victoria in 2015-16 commenced spilling from mid-July. The full 57.7 GL will spill given the size of the unregulated flow event.

We have been able to re-regulate the 57.7 GL in the Barrages Weir Pool, enabling an immediate increase to allocations of 9 per cent in 2016-17.

The outlook for further improvements remains positive, as key catchments remain wet and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) seasonal rainfall outlook indicates above average rainfall conditions across the Upper River Murray catchment with cooler than average temperatures expected.

.

SA RIVER MURRAY WATER ALLOCATION STATEMENT29 July 2016

Dilution loss

CHWN

Allocation announcement (36%)

Allocation announcement (52%)

Allocation announcement

(89%) Entitlement flow

57.7 GL spill from Lake Victoria

MDBA continued spill from Lake Victoria

95% chance of reaching 100% allocation by end September 2016

Environment

Trade TLM/CEWH/VEWH Unregulated flows

Additional dilution flow

Unregulated flows started

696 GL

900 GL

1130 GL

1230 GL

1410 GL

1467.7 GL

1546 GL

1850 GL

1 July

4 July

15 July

20 July

29 July

September

Figure 1: Timeline of 2016-17 water allocation decisions

INDICATIVE OUTLOOK

An indicative outlook for improvements to River Murray water access entitlements, based on different water availability conditions, is provided below in Table 1.

Data used to calculate the indicative water allocation outlook is provided by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. This information should be used with caution as it is subject to change on a regular basis and takes into account the water sharing approach adopted under the South Australian River Murray Water Allocation Framework.

Actual increases to water availability will be based on improvements under the worst-case scenario provided by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA). This is a conservative outlook.

As the year progresses, DEWNR undertakes regular assessments of water availability. Actual improvements

will allow for allocations to be increased incrementally.

Graph 1: Increasing allocations with increased water availability

Table 1: Possible allocations based on a range of water available scenarios

Allo

cati

on (%

)100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900

Total water available - SA entitlement plus storage right contribution (GL)

36% July 1

52% July 15

89% July 29

Water Availability Scenario End August (%) End September (%)

95% Chance 96 100

90% Chance 98 100

75% Chance 100 100

WATER SHARING

Under normal conditions, the River Murray in South Australia receives up to 1,850 GL of water per year (Entitlement Flow). Under these conditions, water access entitlement holders (licensees) receive 100 per cent of their water allocation.

Under dry conditions, South Australia’s Entitlement Flow is reduced. If South Australia receives less than 1,850 GL in a year, then the reduced volume is shared between licence holders.

For the 2016-17 water year, the South Australian Government has approved a change to the River Murray Water Allocation Framework to allow 100% allocations for licensees when we reach 1,546 GL of Entitlement Flow.

The Murray-Darling Basin Agreement and source of improvements determine how South Australia receives a share of the water that flows into the River Murray system and storages.

Currently, the MDBA provides a summary of state water shares twice a month to New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia indicating their share of the available water resources. Based on this information, the Minister for the River Murray makes a decision on how much water will be allocated, in accordance with the 2016-17 River Murray Water Allocation Framework. The Framework describes how River Murray water is shared, and is available on the Department’s website www.environment.sa.gov.au/managing-natural-resources/river-murray/water-allocation-and-trade/water-allocations-and-announcements. Figure 2 shows how the Entitlement Flow is shared between water users.

1850 GL Full South Australian

Entitlement

1410 GL We are here!

1546 GL

900 GL

696 GL

Consumptive use

Unallocated (stays in river for the environment)

Critical human water needs

Dilution and loss

Figure 2: Entitlement Flow - Dilution and Loss and Critical Human Water Needs are the highest priority water within the River Murray system

www.environment.sa.gov.au/managing-natural-resources/river-murray/latest-news nrsamdb nrsamdb

Generally, the majority of improvements to South Australia’s water resource availability come from inflows into Hume and Dartmouth Reservoirs. This is because they are the largest operational storages.

However, recent improvements to South Australian allocations has been made possible, in part, to good inflows from the Ovens River (the current highest contributing river downstream of the Hume Reservoir).

But, not all inflows downstream of the storages are available for immediate allocation and sharing with South Australia.

Typically, these inflows are credited to either New South Wales or Victoria in Lake Victoria as per the conditions under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement.

Figure 3 above provides an overview of how water is shared between Basin States in the River Murray system. You can find out more information at: www.mdba.gov.au/river-information/water-sharing.

Figure 3: How Inflows are Shared (source Murray-Darling Basin Authority).