Seasonal Determination - 17 July 2023

Monday 17 July, 2023

Seasonal determinations for 2023/24 update

The Resource Manager for northern Victoria today announced an update of 2023/24 seasonal determinations and an updated outlook.

The Murray system seasonal determination increases from 80 per cent of high-reliability water shares (HRWS) to 88 per cent HRWS.

The Broken system moves from 49 per cent HRWS to 53 per cent HRWS.

The Campaspe system increases from 100 per cent HRWS and 46 per cent of low-reliability water shares (LRWS) to 100 per cent HRWS and 53 per cent LRWS.

Seasonal determinations in the Goulburn, Loddon and Bullarook systems remain unchanged.

Resource Manager Mark Bailey said rainfall and updated carryover data contributed to the increases announced today.

“Recent rainfall is maintaining flows into the major storages, adding resource for our assessments,” Dr Bailey said. “This latest update also includes minor adjustments to carryover data.”

Dr Bailey confirmed the initial volumes deducted from spillable water accounts in the Goulburn and Campaspe systems as Goulburn-Murray Water manages the rate of fill at Lake Eildon and Lake Eppalock. “About 100 gigalitres will be deducted from Goulburn spillable water accounts, which is about 22 per cent of the current volumes. In the Campaspe, the volume is about 1 gigalitre or 6 per cent of the current volumes in the spillable water accounts.

“The volume deducted from Murray spillable water accounts due to releases from Lake Hume in July will be confirmed in the August 15 seasonal determination update,” Dr Bailey added.

The seasonal determinations for northern Victorian water systems on Monday, July 17 are:

Water System High-Reliability Water Share Low-Reliability Water Share
Murray 88% 0%
Broken 53% 0%
Goulburn 100% 0%
Campaspe 100% 53%
Loddon 100% 0%
Bullarook 100% 100%

Trading Opportunities

Allocation trade from New South Wales to Victoria is limited to the lesser of a net annual volume of 200 GL or a volume that keeps the risk of spill in the Victoria’s share of the both Hume and Dartmouth reservoirs below 50 per cent. As Victoria’s share of Hume and Dartmouth is close to full, trade from New South Wales to Victoria is not possible. The volume available for trade is updated with each risk of spill announcement. 

Customers participating in the water trading market can monitor trade availability on the Water Register website

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has announced that trading of water allocations from above the Barmah Choke to downstream of the Choke is restricted to protect the delivery of downstream water entitlements. Customers can monitor trading opportunities across the Barmah Choke on the MDBA website

Upcoming Resource Manager Announcements

  • The next 2023/24 seasonal determination announcement will be released on Tuesday August 1, 2023.
  • The risk of spill in the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems will be updated on Thursday August 10, 2023.