Goulburn rises on the back of rainfall

By Geoff Adams

Jul 10, 2020

Winter rain and the early filling of Waranga Basin has pushed the Goulburn River stream flow higher recently.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The Goulburn River flow increased to almost 9000 Ml/day in the last week of June, and last Thursday it was running at about 5000 Ml/day at Shepparton.

The Broken River peaked on July 5 at about 1300 Ml/day. Other tributaries like the Sunday Creek and Howqua River have also been experiencing higher stream flows.

Goulburn-Murray Water diverted additional water into the off-stream storage, Waranga Basin, during April and early May as rainfall reduced irrigation demand and increased river flows.

G-MW water resources manager Mark Bailey said the water would be held in storage at Waranga Basin until the next irrigation season begins on August 15.

Dr Bailey said since the last seasonal outlook, a more optimistic picture was viable for the Goulburn system and the Murray system was improving.

“Between now and start of August, we won’t need to put any more water into Waranga Basin,” he said.

“This means inflows for the Goulburn and ultimately the Murray rivers.”

By Geoff Adams

Shepparton News assistant editor