We have approval to reduce the river flows back from the prescribed March and April flows but we are also looking for some reductions in irrigation use with the 25% restriction. We are going to operate this again on a volumetric basis over the remaining three weeks of March with rolling fortnightly reviews.
I realise this is at odds with the advice that I gave at the beginning of February when it did look like there was sufficient storage. The inflows dropped dramatically around the whole catchment at the end of February and into March so that we are now releasing significantly more than anticipated to maintain flows and irrigation supplies. The catchment inflows are now less than for the same period last year.
All irrigators are to please plan their water use to limit their takes to a 75% allocation for the three weeks to the end of March.
To read this newsletter, please download the PDF version here:
160311 Water Restriction Notice 10
