Murray

The Murray River forms most of Victoria’s border with New South Wales (NSW). Victoria shares the volume of water held in the major storages with NSW under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement (MDBA).

For the purposes of these Accounts, the Murray basin refers to 5 non-contiguous regions, including the Upper Murray basin and 4 smaller areas in Victoria supplied from the Murray River downstream of Lake Hume. The Murray basin also includes flows in the Lower Broken Creek.

There are typically large volumes of water diverted from the Murray River for irrigation and environmental use. Irrigation diversions support significant agricultural production.

More information on water management and accounting is detailed in Water explained.

When compared to the previous year, in 2023-24:

• less rainfall was received and catchment inflow was much lower
• storage levels were lower at the end of the year
• there were more restrictions on licensed diversions from streams
• high-reliability entitlements received 100% allocation, the same as the previous year
• more water was diverted for consumptive uses
• less water was diverted for environmental uses.

Rainfall

In 2023-24, rainfall varied across the Murray basin compared to the long-term average, but was lower than the previous year. Rainfall was:

• very much below average to below average across most of the eastern region of the basin
• average in the north-west around Mildura and in small parts of the basin near Cobram and Omeo
• above average across most of the central regions of the basin.

Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2023-24 compared to the long-term average (1975-2024).

Wastewater treatment plants

Water treated at wastewater treatment plants can be used to supplement water available in the basin. Water discharged to waterways from treatment plants is included as an inflow to the water balance.

Information on treatment plants is reported in the water supply local reports for the water corporation responsible for managing the plant.

In this basin, wastewater treatment plants are managed by Coliban Water, East Gippsland Water, Goulburn Valley Water, Lower Murray Water, and North East Water.

Compliance

Compliance against water entitlements is reported for this basin in 3 areas:

• entitlement issued: that the volume of entitlements issued in a basin does not exceed formal caps, and has not increased without appropriate approvals
• water taken: that the volume of water taken during the year does not exceed the volume considered to be available for consumptive and/or in-stream use during that year
• bulk entitlement provisions: that holders of entitlements do not breach any provisions that are documented in their bulk entitlement orders.

Note to increase in total entitlement volume:

• Water share volume increased by 4,411 ML (high-reliability) and 1,205 ML (low-reliability); all of this was issued for the Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project and Water Efficiency Project, and Lower Murray Water’s Sunraysia Water Efficiency Project. Due to these projects, there was also a decrease in loss entitlement volume.
• Two new Mitigation Water environmental entitlements (one high- and one low-reliability) were issued to the Victorian Environmental Water Holder using savings from the Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project (1,276 ML high- and 486 ML low-reliability). These entitlements replaced the Environmental Entitlement (River Murray - NVIRP Stage 1) 2012, which did not have a specified entitlement volume, and which was repealed on 20 June 2024.
• The 2 changes outlined above were commensurate with the irrigation modernisation works completed in line with the Water Act and Water Savings Protocol. More information on the Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project, Goulburn-Murray Water Water Efficiency Project and Lower Murray Water Sunraysia Water Efficiency Project can be found in Statewide Surface Water Entitlements and compliance.
• Supply by agreement volumes decreased by 33 ML. 38 ML was cancelled and converted to water shares (22 ML high-reliability and 16 ML low-reliability). A supply by agreement was incorrectly issued with 5 ML of entitlement volume, this was corrected and reduced to 0 ML in the 2024-25 water year.
• Small catchment dam volumes (SCD) increased to correct a conversion error.

Notes to exceptions to compliance:

• Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) reported damage to the Woorinen pump station bulk diversion meter, resulting in incomplete diversion data. The diversion volume has been estimated by applying an average efficiency to the annual delivery volume. A project to replace the meter is in progress. Due to complexities at the site, works are expected to occur in 2025-26.
• Lower Murray Water reported that water taken at the Lake Cullulleraine off-take exceeded the daily rate listed of 120 ML per day in the bulk entitlement due to increased diversions licenced from the lake; however, the volume taken did not exceed the total volume permitted in the bulk entitlement.
• The Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) reported that the operating arrangements for the River Murray - Mitigation Water Environmental Entitlement Order 2023 were incomplete at the time of the deadline in the environmental entitlement order. These operating arrangements were reviewed and implemented in 2023-24 during delivery under the entitlement. The associated documentation was updated in April 2025.

Environmental watering sites

Environmental watering sites in the Murray basin that depend on water for the environment include:

• the Barmah-Millewa Forest, Gunbower Forest, Hattah Lakes and Kerang Lakes, which are located along the Murray River and are internationally significant wetlands listed under the Ramsar Convention
• the Living Murray icon sites – which include the Lindsay, Wallpolla and Mulcra islands, the Barmah-Millewa Forest, Gunbower Forest and the Hattah Lakes
• other wetlands in the lower Murray floodplain between Swan Hill and the South Australian border.

Environmental water reserve

In 2023-24, water for the environment in the Murray basin comprised:

• the Bulk Entitlement (River Murray - Flora and Fauna) Conversion Order 1999 - Flora and Fauna component, which includes 45,571 ML of high-reliability, 5,860 ML of low-reliability and 49,000 ML of unregulated entitlements held by the VEWH
• the Bulk Entitlement (River Murray - Flora and Fauna) Conversion Order 1999 - Living Murray, which includes 9,589 ML of high-reliability, 101,850 ML of low-reliability and 34,300 ML of unregulated entitlements held by the VEWH on behalf of the MDBA
• the Bulk Entitlement (River Murray - Flora and Fauna) Conversion Order 1999 - Barmah-Millewa Forest Environmental Water Allocation, a significant operational rule embedded in consumptive entitlements comprising 50,000 ML of high-reliability and 25,000 ML of low-reliability entitlements
• the Bulk Entitlement (River Murray - Flora and Fauna) Conversion Order 1999 - River Murray Increased Flows, comprising Victoria’s share of water recovered under the Snowy Water Initiative released from the Snowy Scheme to the River Murray, held by the VEWH
• the Environmental Entitlement (River Murray - NVIRP Stage 1) 2012, which includes allocated mitigation water for the purposes of watering specific environmental sites that have been identified through Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project environmental approvals processes (1,207 ML of allocation in 2023-24). This entitlement was repealed on 20 June 2024 and replaced by the River Murray - Mitigation Water Environmental Entitlement 2023 below
• River Murray - Mitigation Water Environmental Entitlement 2023, which includes 1,276 ML of high-reliability and 486 ML of low-reliability entitlement, replacing the repealed Environmental Entitlement (River Murray - NVIRP Stage 1) 2012
• the Bulk Entitlement (River Murray - Snowy Environmental Reserve) Conversion Order 2004, comprising 29,794 ML of high-reliability entitlements, held by the VEWH
• 393,294 ML of high-reliability water shares and 43,025 ML of low-reliability water shares held for the environment
• water set aside for minimum flows released by the MDBA as a condition of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement
• water set aside for the environment through flow-sharing arrangements set out in North East Water’s and East Gippsland Water’s bulk entitlements from unregulated rivers
• all other water in the basin not allocated for consumptive uses: this water also provides social, recreational and cultural benefits.

Environmental water use

A total of 396,674 ML of environmental water was sourced from the Murray basin in 2023-24. Of this, 34,922 ML was diverted off-stream. The remaining 344,751 ML was delivered in-stream in the Murray River.

A total of 602,295 ML of Victorian environmental water crossed the South Australian border. This delivery was supplied from environmental water entitlements in the Murray, Goulburn, Campaspe and Loddon systems.

Management of water in the Murray basin is undertaken by various parties.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) operates the Murray River on behalf of the Victorian, New South Wales and South Australian governments in accordance with the water-sharing arrangements set out in the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement. Under the agreement, Victoria shares the waters of the Murray River with New South Wales and South Australia.

Under normal conditions, Victoria is entitled to a 50% share of all flows upstream of Doctors Point near Albury-Wodonga (that is, flows to Hume and Dartmouth reservoirs and from the Kiewa River), a 50% share of inflows to the Menindee Lakes storage and all flows entering the Murray from the Ovens, Goulburn, Broken, Campaspe and Loddon rivers. Victoria is also required to supply half of South Australia's monthly entitlement flows from the water available to it.