Irrigation Allocations - January 2007
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Goulburn-Murray Water (G-MW)
Water allocations for the 2006/2007 season were updated by Goulburn-Murray Water on 15 January 2007. The date for the end of the Goulburn system irrigation season has been confirmed as 15 April 2007. Any future inflows and saved resources will be directed towards allocation improvements. Emergency drought pumping at the Waranga Basin is required to support the current allocation.
Storage volumes in Loddon and Campaspe systems have continued to fall, and G-MW is preparing emergency drought operation measures to meet domestic and stock requirements in these systems until inflows increase significantly.
Dry and hot weather, combined with lower than normal irrigation deliveries have contributed to higher than expected losses in Murray Valley and Torrumbarry gravity distribution systems. One option being considered to manage the high losses is an early close to the Murray system season, as in the Goulburn system.
The Broken system allocation has been increased from 66% to 71% of licensed volume. The increase has been made possible by continued efficient operations.
Current allocations are as follows:
- Goulburn system: 24%;
- Campaspe and Loddon systems: zero allocation;
- Murray system: 95% of water right and licensed volume;
- Broken system: increased to 71% of licensed volume (up from 66%);
- Bullarook System:
- customers supplied from Newlyn reservoir have an allocation of 36%;
- customers supplied from Hepburn’s Lagoon have an allocation of 0%.
The next allocation announcement is scheduled for Thursday 1 February 2007.
A zero allocation is in place for Coliban rural licence holders for the 2006/07 season. However, a temporary qualification of rights has been made to allow the supply of a limited amount (30% allocation) of water to sustain permanent plantings, food production and intensive animal industries. Other licence holders are eligible for a water cartage rebate from Coliban Water for water (up to 30,000 litres) carted for essential in-house use.
Coliban Rural System
Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Supply System
Storages in the Wimmera Mallee domestic and stock supply system finished the month at 4.6% of capacity (compared with 8% at the same time last year).
The region is facing an extremely serious water supply situation. The winter channel run from the Grampians system only filled town storages, including two towns usually filled by the summer channel run. Enough water was supplied to these storages to provide emergency supplies for cartage to some 2,300 properties for basic domestic purposes. There is no summer channel run this season.
A water cartage program is being implemented, full details of which are available on Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water’s (GWMW) website. GWMW is delivering 28,000 L of water for domestic use every second month to rural customers not receiving a house dam fill when existing house dam supplies become unusable. The purchase of a water tank is eligible for up to a $3,000 rebate from the Victorian Government.
Additional water is also available to GWMW rural customers, including those who receive a house dam fill, for stock watering and crop spraying. Water is provided at no cost, but carting arrangements and costs are the customer’s responsibility.
Water is also available at a cost of $1.20/kL under a permit system for carting by others (at their own cost) who are not customers of GWMW. This water is for domestic use only.
Supplies to all customer groups are being made available in accordance with the restriction schedule contained in the Wimmera-Glenelg Bulk Entitlements. Restrictions are as follows:
- towns are on Stage 4 restrictions;
- irrigation supplies are again zero;
- no supply is available for irrigation diversions on Wimmera River;
- supply to recreation lakes has been nil since 2000;
- commercial supplies to major customers are zero.
Southern Rural Water
Glenmaggie Reservoir, the principal source of water for Thomson-Macalister Irrigation District, was holding 7% of capacity at the end of January. This is the lowest storage figure recorded in the last 30 years for this time of year. Due to continuing low inflows into Lake Glenmaggie, irrigators in the Northern, Eastern and Tinamba/Riverslea areas, in the Macalister Irrigation District remain on a 45% allocation. Irrigators below Cowwarr Weir are supplied from the Thomson Dam, and their allocation was increased from 45% to 50% on 19 December.
Water availability on the Latrobe system remains good, with Blue Rock Lake being at 63.8% of capacity. An allocation of 100% has been announced for license holders downstream on the Latrobe and Tanjil Rivers.
Southern Rural Water’s share of Werribee Basin storages was at 8.8% of capacity (on 29 January 2007). Because of the low storage situation, initial allocations for the 2006/2007 season were 0% for the Bacchus Marsh irrigation area and 5% for the Werribee irrigation area. These were increased to 10% on 23 October 2006. This increase was made possible by a decision to pump dead storage from Pykes Ck Reservoir. Full domestic and stock entitlements are now also available in both areas.
A range of other measures are in place to assist in ameliorating the supply situation. Irrigators in the Werribee area participating in the recycling scheme (around 50% of growers) are able to access recycled water. In the case of Bacchus Marsh irrigators, SRW installed a connection to enable any spare capacity in the Merrimu Reservoir to Bacchus Marsh pipeline, to be used to bring water from SRW’s entitlements in Merrimu into the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation district. A recent qualification of rights has also been made to make a small amount of unallocated water in Lake Merrimu available to irrigators and industrial customers in Bacchus Marsh.
Levels in the Deutgam Groundwater Management Area have been declining through 2005/2006. In order to protect the resource from seawater intrusion, allocations for the 2006/2007 season are at 25% of licensed volume.
Rosslynne Reservoir remains low at 4.9% of capacity. Current allocations for SRW diverters are at 5%.