DELWP regularly updates the community on the status of the state’s water across a variety of categories including storage levels, rainfall, and seasonal outlooks.
Contact the water reporting team at water.reporting@delwp.vic.gov.au for additional information or assistance.
Major storage levels
| Storage | Storage Level (%) | Source data date | Previous Week’s Level (%) | 2018 Level (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne Water | ||||
| Thomson | 56.0 | 15-Oct | 55.7 | 62.6 |
| Cardinia | 79.7 | 15-Oct | 77.8 | 65.3 |
| Upper Yarra | 48.8 | 15-Oct | 50.9 | 57.5 |
| Sugarloaf | 98.6 | 15-Oct | 97.9 | 64.2 |
| Silvan | 87.7 | 15-Oct | 87.7 | 88.2 |
| Tarago | 62.0 | 15-Oct | 61.8 | 82.9 |
| Yan Yean | 73.2 | 15-Oct | 73.2 | 82.0 |
| Greenvale | 79.4 | 15-Oct | 79.9 | 89.8 |
| Maroondah | 99.5 | 15-Oct | 99.8 | 93.6 |
| O'Shannassy | 6.4 | 15-Oct | 6.4 | 73.6 |
| All storages | 63.1 | 15-Oct | 62.9 | 64.6 |
| Goulburn-Murray Water | ||||
| Dartmouth* | 56.5 | 15-Oct | 57.1 | 80.9 |
| Hume* | 40.3 | 15-Oct | 40.7 | 50.1 |
| Eildon | 46.3 | 15-Oct | 46.6 | 61.7 |
| Eppalock (Total) | 35.7 | 15-Oct | 36.1 | 53.9 |
| Cairn Curran | 52.8 | 15-Oct | 52.9 | 48.7 |
| Nillahcootie | 41.0 | 15-Oct | 41.0 | 60.5 |
| Tullaroop | 84.5 | 15-Oct | 84.5 | 54.4 |
| Barwon Water | ||||
| Geelong and district | 70.3 | 14-Oct | 70.5 | 63.4 |
| Central Highlands Water | ||||
| Ballarat and district | 94.6 | 15-Oct | 94.5 | 76.6 |
| Coliban Water | ||||
| Coliban Southern | 96.1 | 8-Oct | 95.9 | 87.4 |
| Gippsland Water | ||||
| Moondarra | 100.0 | 15-Oct | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water | ||||
| Grampians storages | 44.3 | 9-Oct | 44.4 | 51.7 |
| South Gippsland Water | ||||
| Major systems | 99.7 | 11-Oct | 100.0 | 98.1 |
| Southern Rural Water | ||||
| Glenmaggie | 89.6 | 15-Oct | 91.0 | 88.2 |
| Blue Rock | 95.0 | 15-Oct | 94.3 | 93.4 |
| Werribee Basin** | 72.3 | 15-Oct | 72.5 | 48.7 |
| Rosslynne | 26.8 | 15-Oct | 26.6 | 27.1 |
| Westernport Water | ||||
| Candowie | 99.0 | 6-Oct | 100.0 | 73.8 |
* Victoria has a 50% share of inflows to Dartmouth and in Hume
** Werribee Basin storage value is the combined volume of the Melton, Merrimu and Pykes reservoirs
Rainfall in the last seven days
Rainfall in the Melbourne Region in the last seven days:
| Date | Melbourne (Olympic Park) | Upper Yarra | Thomson | Geelong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | Rainfall (mm) | Rainfall (mm) | Rainfall (mm) | |
| 9-Oct | 5.8 | 15.4 | 7.8 | 5.2 |
| 10-Oct | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| 11-Oct | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| 12-Oct | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| 13-Oct | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 14-Oct | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| 15-Oct | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Total | 6.2 | 15.6 | 8.4 | 6.8 |
Total rainfall received this month
Total rainfall received this month in the Melbourne Region:
| Site | Rainfall (mm) - Total month to date | October Rainfall Average (mm) | Calculation method (for average) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melbourne (Olympic Park) | 10.6 | 58.5 | Mean rainfall (mm) - 30 year period 1981 -2010 from Melbourne Regional Office gauge |
| Upper Yarra | 27.4 | 99.2 | As per Melbourne Water |
| Thomson | 15 | 95.2 | As per Melbourne Water |
| Geelong | 13.6 | 51.3 | Mean rainfall (mm) - 28 year period 1983 - 2011 from Grovedale (Geelong Airport) gauge |
Seasonal Climate Outlook
The BoM Climate outlook for October 2019 to December 2019 was issued on 10 October 2019:
Rainfall is likely to be below average across most of the country, excluding northern WA, for the remainder of October and November. The dry outlook for southern and northeastern Australia continues into December.
Daytime temperatures are likely to be above average across Australia for all outlook periods, with a spell of hot weather likely in mid-to-late October for most areas. Nights are likely to be warmer than average for most of Australia except in the southeast during November.
A positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is likely to remain the dominant climate driver for Australia until at least the end of spring. A prolonged period of negative SAM (Southern Annular Mode) may also contribute to the dry/warm outlooks for eastern Australia during October and November.
The next update is expected on 17 October 2019
View the full outlook on the BOM Website.
ENSO Outlook
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Outlook was issued on 15th October 2019.
ENSO remains neutral.
A strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) continues to influence Australian and global climate.
The current positive Indian Ocean Dipole event has strengthened significantly over the past month. The IOD may strengthen further over the next fortnight. However, international climate models surveyed by the Bureau indicate the positive IOD is unlikely to persist far into summer.
Typically, a positive IOD brings below average winter–spring rainfall to southern and central Australia, with warmer days for the southern two-thirds of the country. Positive IOD events are often associated with a more severe fire season for southeast Australia.
Climate models forecast neutral ENSO for the remainder of 2019 and into the first quarter of 2020. When ENSO is neutral, it has little effect on Australian and global climate, meaning other influences are more likely to dominate.
View the full outlook on the BOM Website.
The next update is expected on 29th October 2019.
Seasonal Determinations
Seasonal determinations are made against water shares to provide allocations in declared systems. 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.
| System | Seasonal Determinations | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goulburn-Murray Water - 2019-20 | |||
| HRWS | LRWS | ||
| Murray | 40% | 0% | as at 15 Oct 2019 |
| Broken | 0% | 0% | |
| Goulburn | 50% | 0% | |
| Campaspe | 56% | 0% | |
| Loddon | 50% | 0% | |
| Bullarook | 100% | 100% | |
| Southern Rural Water - 2019-20 | |||
| HRWS | LRWS | ||
| Bacchus Marsh/Werribee | 100% | 30% | as at 8 Oct 2019 |
| Thomson/Macalister | 100% | 0% | as at 8 Oct 2019 |
| Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water - 2019-20 | |||
| Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline Product | 30% | as at 4 Oct 2019 | |
| Coliban Water- 2018-19 | |||
| Coliban Rural System | 100% | Opening announcement 1 July 2018 | |
Additional Information
Weather and Climate
For most up to date information regarding rainfall conditions, seasonal climate outlooks and other climate information, visit the Bureau of Meteorology site.
Groundwater Restrictions
For current groundwater restrictions visit the Goulburn-Murray Water, Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water and Southern Rural Water sites.
Seasonal Determinations
Seasonal determinations are made against water shares to provide allocations (Glossary). Visit the Victorian Water Register website for current determinations.
Seasonal Determination Outlook
The Northern Victoria Resource Manager provides information about risk of spill and resource outlook (Glossary) for seasonal determinations.
Water Register and Market Information
The Water Register is a public register of all water-related entitlements in Victoria. It has been designed and built to record water entitlements with integrity and provide crucial information for managing Victoria’s water resources.
You can obtain information about trading water in Victoria at the Victorian Water Register Site. Water products that may be traded in Victoria include water shares, allocations and take and use licences (Glossary)
Urban Water Restrictions
Water restrictions are only applicable to customers on a piped water (reticulated) supply. Urban water corporations publish water restrictions on their websites. Visit the Water in Your Region page to find your urban water corporation via the interactive map.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Water Restrictions also provides a summary of water restrictions.
Visit the DELWP water restrictions page for more detail on the types of restrictions.
Environmental Water Releases
To learn how water for the environment is being used across the rivers and wetlands of Victoria, visit the Victorian Environmental Water Holder website.
Drought Management
Victorian's Drought Preparedness and Response Framework is being used to support drought-affected communities, Visit the Drought Section of the Agriculture Victoria website for further information.
Page last updated: 16/10/19