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General Category => Weather and Water Updates => Topic started by: Editor on November 26, 2013, 09:27:07 PM
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Lower Darling River Flow advice: Menindee Lakes release to increase26 November 2013 - MDBA
Increased releases of water from the Menindee Lakes to the lower Darling River are expected to start on Monday December 2.
Landholders and river users, including pumpers, should take into account the changing flow rates along the lower Darling River and make necessary adjustments to their activities.
Over a period of around five days, the release will be increased to a target flow downstream of Weir 32 of about 2,400 ML/day. There will be some minor variability in this release during the second week of December, before the release is further increased to a peak of about 3,400 ML/day in mid-December.
It is expected that the peak river heights from these releases will be around 2.3 metres at Weir 32, while the Burtundy gauge is forecast to reach around 2.0 metres during the last week of December.
From mid-December, the release will be held steady at around 3,400 ML/day for about a week and then, from around December 20 the release will be very gradually decreased to around 2,500 ML/day (2.1 metres at Weir 32) by mid-January. It is expected that releases above seasonal minimum rates will persist throughout summer and the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) will provide further details on flow rates in the New Year.
Releases from the Menindee Lakes over recent months have been managed to meet minimum flow targets in the lower Darling River. The increased releases will transfer water from the Menindee Lakes to the River Murray to meet demands over the coming months. The pattern of flow is aimed at minimising inconvenience for downstream landholders while providing benefits to the riverine environment, including flow conditions favourable for the spawning of native fish.
Water from Lake Menindee will be used as much as possible to preserve water in Lakes Wetherell and Pamamaroo in order to meet long standing obligations to provide for the security of Broken Hill's water supply.
This flow forecast is dependent on weather conditions and operational requirements and assumes no significant rainfall or inflows. A further flow advice will be issued if there are any significant variations to these planned releases.
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