Water

Murray River operational outlook updated as dry conditions persist

Dec 19, 2025

Murray-Darling Basin Authority updated its Annual Operating Outlook due to ongoing dry conditions and low Murray River inflows. Photo by Bree Harding

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has updated its Annual Operating Outlook, highlighting ongoing dry conditions and very low inflows to the Murray River for the second year in a row.

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MDBA river operations senior director Tom Zouch said the update reflected conditions to the end of October and outlined how the MDBA was preparing to manage water delivery across the southern basin this summer and for the remainder of the water year.

“Since the 2025-26 AOO was published in August, inflows to the Murray River system have been similar to the dry scenario while inflows to the Menindee Lakes have been above the wet scenario presented in the original report,” Mr Zouch said.

“This update outlines the likely transfers from upstream storages to manage the system this year.”

The AOO identifies a range of operating scenarios from dry to wet. The MDBA will continue to monitor conditions, and if it remains dry, it will manage storage volumes to conserve water and meet demands this water year.

“At the beginning of December, the Menindee Lakes were at 69 per cent capacity (1201 gigalitres) compared to 42.9 per cent at the same time last year,” Mr Zouch said.

With inflows receding across the northern basin, the MDBA is balancing operations at the Menindee Lakes in partnership with basin states.

MDBA can access water until lake levels fall to 480GL, at which point the MDBA is no longer able to call on water for use in the Murray River.

The MDBA continues to operate in close partnership with NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and WaterNSW to mitigate water quality and water security risks at Menindee and the lower Darling-Baaka.

Storages in the Murray River system at the beginning of December were sitting in a good position, with Hume Dam at 43 per cent, Dartmouth Dam at 74 per cent and Lake Victoria at 90 per cent.

The updated AOO confirmed that delivery risks remain low this summer, with sufficient water being held in Lake Victoria to manage deliveries to South Australia and options available to manage the risk of delivery shortfalls downstream of Barmah.

Under the expected scenarios, the MDBA is in a good position to meet anticipated water delivery needs for the rest of this water year.