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
November rainfall was close to average for the State as a whole, with drier than average areas mostly in the west and wetter than average areas mostly in the east.
Please note, due to a change in service provider the monthly streamflow update is not available at this time. Please visit the Water Measurement Information System for up to date information on Victoria’s rivers and streams.
Storage levels
The total volume of water held in Victoria's major storages decreased by 0.8% during November, ending the month at 61.5% capacity. Decreases were recorded in 42 monitored storages, with the O'Shannassy reservoir recording the largest percentage fall of 17.7%.
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Groundwater
This section contains a quarterly update on groundwater trends for July to September period. The next update is December 2018.
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Urban water restrictions
All towns are currently subject to Permanent Water Savings Rules. Permanent Water Saving Rules were also applied at the same time last year.
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Seasonal allocation determinations
Seasonal allocation determinations are made by the respective water corporation resource managers and are made effective in the Victorian Water Register by the Department Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). At 30 November seasonal allocation determinations for the Murray and Goulburn systems remained at less than 100% for high reliability water shares (HRWS) being at 90% and 85% respectively.
In Southern Victoria, seasonal determination for the Werribee / Bacchus Marsh Irrigation Districts were 30% for HRWS and 100% for Macalister Irrigation District HRWS.
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Restrictions on diversions
At 30 November, there were 79 unregulated streams subject to diversion restrictions across Victoria. This is 27 more than reported at the end of October, and 50 more than at the same time last year.
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Seasonal climate outlook
The Bureau of Meteorology(BoM) released its latest ENSO Wrap-Up on 20 November. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Outlook remains at El Niño ALERT.
BoM released its latest December to February 2019 climate outlook on 29 November. The outlook indicates that Victoria shows no strong push towards a wetter or drier than average season.
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Water for the environment
The Victorian Environmental Water Holder's (VEWH) Seasonal Watering Plan 2018-19 is the major planning document for environmental watering in Victoria in the current year. The plan is based on seasonal watering proposals developed by catchment management authorities and Melbourne Water in consultation with local communities and other partner agencies.
The VEWH Seasonal Watering Plan 2018-19 and information on environmental water being delivered across Victoria can be found on the VEWH website.
This section no longer provides updates on environmental entitlements as more up to date information can be found on: