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Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW)

G-MW announced an increased allocation on the Goulburn system on 16 February, but allocations remained unchanged on all other systems.

The final seasonal allocation for all systems for this season will be announced by G-MW on Wednesday 1 April 2009. All late season resource improvements will be reserved to secure water supplies in 2009/10.

The Minister for Water temporarily qualified rights to water in the Murray, Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe, Loddon and Bullarook systems to make sufficient water available for essential urban and farming needs.

Normal allocation rules resumed on the Goulburn and Murray systems during November when allocations reached 20%. Normal allocation rules will resume on the Broken system when allocations reach 20%. The qualification on the Loddon, Bullarook, and Campaspe systems will remain in place until allocations in these systems reach 50%.

G-MW released the first seasonal allocation outlook for the 2009/10 season on 16 February 2009.

All systems are expected to have zero seasonal allocation on 1 July 2009.

The following tables list estimated future allocations (as a percentage of high reliability water share), under a range of inflow scenarios.

Outlook for Monday 17 August 2009

Outlook for Thursday 15 October 2009

Outlook for Monday 15 February 2010

Coliban Water

On 15 September, Coliban Water announced a 0% allocation on the Coliban Rural System.

Recycled water is available to customers on the Ascot, Axe Creek and Cockatoo Hill channel systems up to 40% of licence volume. Elsewhere in the rural system, a qualification of rights is in place to provide significant commercial operators with emergency supplies up to 30% of licence volume.

The Bendigo Recycled Water Factory was closed for several weeks at the beginning of February due to a broken pipe and problems with the biological treatment process. Recycled water supplies were met by Spring Gully Reservoir (which was filled earlier in the season) until the factory resumed full operating capacity in mid-February.

Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Supply System

The Grampians storages were at 4.2% of capacity at the end of February.

Towns and farms in Supply Systems 1, 2 and 5 are receiving restricted supply from the pipeline.

In Supply Systems 3 and 4, the channel run has supplied towns and some large supply-by-agreement customers adjacent to the major channels (including Charlton feedlot, QAF Meats). GWMWater commenced its domestic carting program to eligible farms on 1 November 2008. Trunk installation in these areas is almost complete with construction of pump stations and storages on target for completion by the end of 2009.

There is not enough water for a channel run this year in Supply System 6. GWMWater is carting domestic water to farms with dams that have emptied or become unusable due to poor water quality. Pipeline works have begun in the Clear Lake area and the pipeline are estimated for completion by the end of 2009.

Irrigation allocations remain at zero.

Southern Rural Water

Macalister Irrigation District (MID)

At the end of February, Lake Glenmaggie, the principal source of water for the MID, was at 49.6% of capacity. This is a decrease of 21% over the month.

Irrigation deliveries have been high because of low rainfall over spring and summer.

Rainfall during late November and early December led to Lake Glenmaggie spilling before 15 December 2008 (the end of the official spilling season). As such, water used before this date became Spill Entitlement.

The irrigation allocation from 15 December onwards has been set at 95% for all irrigators within the MID, and for diverters on the Thomson River, Macalister River and Rainbow Creek. Further inflows have been minimal, and the allocation has not been increased.

Latrobe System

At the end of February, storage levels in Blue Rock Lake were at 81.3% of capacity.

The irrigation share of Blue Rock was 80.6 ML or 1.9% of regulated allocation. SRW licence holders downstream on the Latrobe and Tanjil Rivers can pump up to their licence volume, but this is subject to the availability of unregulated river flows (which normally contribute approximately 70% of entitlements).  Irrigators are now severely restricted in their access to water.

Werribee Basin

SRW’s share of the Werribee storages was at 3% of capacity at the end of February.

The seasonal allocation remained at 5% high reliability water share for the Werribee and Bacchus Marsh irrigation districts. This allocation applies until 30 June 2009. Irrigators are continuing to use water remaining from the 2,000 ML transferred from the SRW drought reserve in Thomson Reservoir.

Irrigators in the Werribee area continue to rely on the recycling scheme as their principal water source while the river flows are very low. The recycling scheme is now providing about 60 ML/day, and approximately 95% of Werribee growers are participating.

SRW is preparing its Western Irrigation Contingency Plan for the 2009/10 season.

Maribyrnong Basin

The storage volume in Rosslynne Reservoir remained very low, at 2.8% of capacity at the end of February. 

With inflows well below average, SRW diverters have another season of zero allocations.