Current water snapshot

The status of the state’s water resources across various categories, including storage levels, rainfall and seasonal outlooks.

Water storage levels

• Melbourne Water storage levels

* Victoria has a 50% share of inflows to Dartmouth and in Hume

• Goulburn-Murray Water storage levels
• Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water storage levels

* Werribee Basin storage value is the combined volume of the Melton, Merrimu and Pykes reservoirs

• Barwon Water storage levels
• Central Highlands Water storage levels
• Coliban Water storage levels
• Gippsland Water storage levels
• South Gippsland Water storage levels
• Westernport Water storage levels

Monthly storage levels

As of the end of March 2024:

• Regional storages were 81.4% full
  • 5.7% lower than the previous month (97.1%)
• Melbourne storages were 90.7% full.
  • 6.2% lower than the previous month (96.9%)
• Total Victorian storages were 82.7% full.
  • 5.8% lower than the previous month (88.5%)

Download the monthly dataset

Updated 18 April 2024. The next update is in mid-May 2024.

Regional, Melbourne and all Victoria monthly storage levels

Bureau of Meteorology rainfall maps

On the Bureau of Meteorology websites, view

• map of rainfall received in the past 7 days
• map of total rainfall received month to date

• There is a moderate (40-60%) chance that May to July rainfall will exceed the median across most of Victoria. There is a lower (30-40%) chance of exceeding the median around south-west and north-east Victoria.
• Minimum daily temperatures in May to July are very likely to exceed the median (>80% chance) across most of Victoria. There is a slightly lower chance (70-80%) of minimum temperatures exceeding the median in north-west Victoria.
• Maximum daily temperatures in May to July are very likely to exceed the median (>80% chance) for all of Victoria.
• Updated on 18 April 2024. The next update is expected on 25 April 2024.

• El Niño has ended and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has returned to neutral. Climate models indicate that ENSO will likely continue to be neutral until at least July 2024.
• Oceanic and atmospheric indicators are now indicative of neutral ENSO. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the central Pacific have been steadily cooling since December 2023. This surface cooling is supported by a significant amount of sub-surface cooling underneath the central and eastern Pacific, which is typical at the end of the El Niño phase of ENSO.
• International climate models suggest that ENSO will likely continue to be neutral until at least July 2024, although caution is advised for predictions made in mid-autumn as they tend to have lower accuracy than predictions made at other times of the year.
• Global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have been the warmest on record for each month between April 2023 and March 2024. As the current global ocean conditions have not been observed before, inferences of how ENSO may develop in 2024 that are based on past events may not be reliable.
  The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is neutral despite recent values above the positive threshold, with sustained values required for an IOD event.
• Updated on 16 April 2024. The next update is expected on 30 April 2024.

Current urban restrictions

As at 24 April 2024, there were no towns on restrictions, with permanent water saving rules in place across Victoria. The last time urban restrictions were in place was in June 2020, when 20 towns were on stage 1 restrictions.

Urban water corporations publish water restrictions on their websites.

Find your urban water corporation.

Monthly urban restrictions - 2010 to 2024

The graph and data below are updated at the end of each month.

Updated 4 April 2024. The next update is in early May 2024.

Graph of total number of towns on urban restrictions from January 2010 to March 2024

Stream restrictions

End-of-month stream restrictions - 2010 to 2024

As at the end of April 2024, there were 69 streams with restrictions or bans on licensed diversions across Victoria - 12 fewer than at the end of March 2024. These are shown in red and purple in the map below.

Map of unregulated streams restricted as at 22 April 2024*

* This map is for indicative purposes only and licence holders should refer to their respective water corporation regarding unregulated stream restrictions. This map does not display current bans and restrictions for all unregulated streams.

The graph and data below are as at the end of each month.

Updated 24 April 2024. The next update is late May 2024.

Graph of total number of unregulated streams restricted from January 2010 to April 2024

Quarterly groundwater level trend summary

Groundwater level trend update

1 October to 31 December 2023 quarter.

Groundwater level trends in groundwater management units (GMUs) are reported quarterly. Groundwater level trends for GMUs have been determined based on 5 years (short-term) or 10 years (long-term) consistent monitoring data from key bores in the State Observation Bore Network (SOBN).

There are 2 categories of GMUs:

• Groundwater management areas (GMAs)
• Water supply protection areas (WSPAs)

Updated 21 March 2024. The next update is April/May 2024 (for the January to March 2024 quarter).

Short and long term groundwater level trend maps

Seasonal determinations and allocations

Seasonal determinations are made against water shares to provide allocations in declared systems. These can be for high reliability (HRWS) or low reliability (LRWS) water shares. In northern Victoria, Goulburn-Murray Water makes the seasonal determinations in the relevant systems, while Southern Rural Water makes the seasonal determinations in the Thomson/Macalister and Bacchus Marsh/Werribee systems.

In the Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water area, resource assessments are undertaken every month to determine the amount of water that can be made available to entitlement holders. These monthly assessments result in a formal announcement on water allocations.

Coliban Water assesses seasonal allocations for customers on its rural network based on available resources in the Coliban System.

Goulburn-Murray Water

Southern Rural Water

Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water

Coliban Water

Page last updated: 24/04/24