The Monthly Water Report provides a summary of the status of Victoria's water resources and water supplies at the end of the reporting month. It is based on validated water resource information provided by Victoria's 19 Urban and Rural Water Corporations and the Bureau of Meteorology. Each month's report is published online the following month. For detailed, specific and up-to-date information, please contact the relevant Water Corporation or the Bureau of Meteorology. Links to these organisations are located within the Monthly Water Report. 

Rainfall

Widespread rain over the last three days of the month helped deliver average monthly totals for September across most of eastern and northern Victoria. However, rainfall in other parts of the State was not as substantial, with totals very much below the September average across the Wimmera and south-west Victoria.

Streamflow

Streamflows in the west and south-west of the State continued to diminish with below average rainfall and above average daily maximum temperatures experienced during September However, widespread rainfall at the end of the month produced above average streamflows in the north-east.

Storages

The total volume of water in most of Victoria’s major storages increased during September. By the end of September, Victoria’s major storages had risen to 86.9% of total capacity. The total volume of water in Victoria’s major regional storages increased to 91.1% and Melbourne’s storage levels rose to 62.1%.

Restrictions on Urban Water Supplies

During September, Lower Murray Water removed Stage 3 restrictions for Robinvale, and Central Highlands Water removed Stage 2 restrictions for six towns supplied by the Forest Hill supply system.

At the end of the month, 26 Victorian towns were still on restrictions. This is the lowest number of towns on restrictions for almost a decade.

Irrigation Allocations

Allocations on all northern systems increased during September, except the Bullarook system which has already reached the maximum allocation for both high-reliability water shares (HRWS) and low-reliability water shares (LRWS) for 2011/12. The HRWS allocation on the Goulburn and Loddon systems finished the month at 95%, the Murray at 69%, and the Broken at 39%. The allocation for LRWS on the Campaspe was increased to 91%.

In the southern irrigation districts, the LRWS allocation for Werribee and Bacchus Marsh was increased to 20% during September. The allocation for Macalister will remain at 90% until the end of the spilling period in December.

Restrictions on Unregulated Streams

As a result of the consistent rainfall during 2010/11 to date, no unregulated streams or lakes across the state were subject to restrictions at the end of September.

Seasonal Climate Outlook

The Bureau of Meteorology’s latest rainfall outlook for October to December 2011 favours a drier than normal season over southern Victoria.

The Bureau reports that ENSO conditions in the central Pacific Ocean are consistent with a developing La Niña event for the October to December quarter. However, if the trend continues, it appears that the event will be weaker than that of 2010/11.