The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) has announced that the minimum opening water allocation for South Australian irrigators has risen to 74 percent for 2019-20.
Based on recent rainfall and water availability data, this is up from previously projected water allocations of: 14 per cent in April, 22 per cent in May, 26 per cent in June, 31 per cent on 1 July, 38 per cent on 15 July, 50 per cent on 1 August and 68 per cent on 15 August.
After two consecutive years with low rainfall and inflows across the Murray-Darling Basin, the volume of water in Murray-Darling Basin Authority controlled storages is around 45 per cent of capacity and slowly increasing.
The latest information provided by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority shows an improvement to South Australia’s water resource availability by 40 gigalitres under a very dry scenario.
The latest rainfall forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology is not showing any significant rainfall over the coming two weeks, therefore the pace in allocation increases observed in the last few announcements might slow a little in mid-September.
Water users will be provided with water allocation updates twice a month reflecting any improved water availability while water allocations remain under 100 per cent. The next update will be on 16 September.
You can stay up to date with DEW’s announcements at the following link: https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/river-murray/water-allocation-and-carryover/water-allocations-and-announcements?fbclid=IwAR3AUL9nhgCSxoGNCYS_A9Ty8OiXe1TFcKapfUMH_zo9AtR_aGD2DG3gZag