Minimum River Murray water allocations increase to 54 percent
The minimum water allocation for South Australian River Murray irrigators in 2020-21 will increase from 40 to 54 percent thanks to continued improvements to water resource conditions.
Water accounts will be updated to reflect this increase as soon as possible following 1 July 2020.
Acting Manager River Murray Water Delivery, Adrienne Rumbelow, said the good rainfall since March has seen storage levels increase and it’s looking positive that allocations will reach 100 percent before the start of summer.
“Only a fortnight ago, it was announced that opening allocations for 2020-21 would start at 40 percent, but the further rainfall we have received means minimum allocations for the year have now risen to 54 percent − which is good news for irrigators, River Murray communities and the environment,” Adrienne said.
“Good rainfall has occurred across key catchment areas in the Murray-Darling Basin over the past few months and as a result, storage levels have begun to rise.
“We’ve now hit winter when most of the inflows traditionally occur, so the signs are good for continued improvements to water allocations for the remainder of 2020-21.”
In planning for the year ahead, irrigators are reminded to have regard to the probabilities for potential allocation improvements, rather than focusing solely on the minimum allocation.
According to the Allocation Statement released today, even if an exceptionally dry scenario plays out over the next six months, South Australian Class 3 (High Security) are likely to reach 100 percent by November 2020. In other words, allocations are projected to reach 100 percent even if inflow conditions in 2020-21 correspond to the worst one percent of years in the recent historical record.
Given the high likelihood of further allocation improvements, water users are also reminded that there is a 100 percent limit on their combined allocations and carryover against entitlement.
