Lower Darling River: Menindee Lakes flow advice

[Member]

Lower Darling River: Menindee Lakes flow advice
26 March 2012 - MDBA

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority advises that the release from Menindee Lakes to the lower Darling River will begin increasing from Tuesday 2 April, 2013, rising to about 4,800 ML/day (2.5 m) at Weir 32 by Friday 5 April and then to about 8,000 ML/day (2.9 m) at Weir 32 by the afternoon of Tuesday 9 April.

Inflows from the Darling River since early March have boosted the storage in the Menindee Lakes by about 280 GL to date. High inflows are expected to continue until at least mid-April providing the opportunity to increase release from Lakes Wetherell and Pamamaroo to meet downstream demands and to transfer water to Lake Victoria.

NSW Office of Water has indicated that the internal operation of the Menindee Lakes system will be managed to maximise the storage in Lakes Wetherell and Pamamaroo over winter (see http://www.water.nsw.gov.au/Water-management/Water-availability/Flood-management/default.aspx#menindeeExternal Site).

Previously, the flow at Weir 32 was about 4,000 ML/day (2.4 m). Flows at Weir 32 are expected to remain above 6,000 ML/day until at least late April, if conditions remain dry and high demands continue.

At Burtundy, the flow is currently about 3,800 ML/day (2.5 m) and steady. The flow is expected to increase during mid-April to about 4,300 ML/day (2.8 m) with a further increase later in April to about 7,000 ML/day (4.0 m).

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.

Forecast flows are also available on the MDBA website (see http://www.mdba.gov.au/water/river_info and click on 'storage volumes & releases' for Menindee storage volume and Weir 32 flows or 'river flows & levels' for Burtundy flows).

This flow forecast is dependent on weather conditions and operational requirements. A further flow advice will be issued if there are any significant variations to these planned releases.