On 15 May 2020, the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) has announced that the minimum projected Class 3 (High Security) and Class 8 opening allocation for the 2020-21 water year has been increased to 8 percent.
Despite this very low minimum opening allocation, improvements across the water year are also expected. How quickly and by how much allocations improve depends on future rainfall, where and when it occurs and how much runoff then makes its way into Southern Basin storages. Most inflows to the River Murray System historically occur between July and October, so the main inflow season is yet to arrive.
The full announcement and South Australia’s Water Allocation statement can be found on the DEW website here.