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 2024-25:

• less rainfall was received, and catchment inflow was 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
• low-reliability entitlements received 0% allocation, less than 100% the previous year
• more water was diverted for consumptive and environmental uses.

Rainfall

In 2024-25, rainfall received in the Murray basin’s regions varied but was generally lower than the previous year. Rainfall was:

• very much below average around Numurkah
• below average across most of the basin’s regions
• close to average around Swan Hill and near Omeo.

Figure 1 displays the rainfall received in 2024-25 compared to the long-term average (1975-2025).

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.

Key points on compliance against entitlements in 2024-25

Notes to exceptions to compliance:

• Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) reported compliance difficulties with:
  • damage to the Woorinen pump station bulk diversion meter requiring an estimate of average efficiency to the annual delivery volume be applied. A project to replace the meter was reported as in progress
  • the Nyah pump district being over the annual loss allowance by 774 ML and exceeding the allowed loss headroom by 164 ML. Issues with the Nyah bulk meter were identified and it was being investigated for replacement
  • losses in Torrumbarry being 6.3 GL higher than the loss provision in Schedule 1; however, this was within the additional allowed loss and annual headroom allowance loss provision.
• Lower Murray Water (LMW) reported compliance difficulties with the provisions of the:
  • Murray irrigation bulk entitlement by exceeding the maximum loss volumes in the Millewa Water Works District by 20.2 ML; however, clause 13 in the bulk entitlement allows the accrual of under/over of losses over a 5-year period. As they exceeded in 2 out of 5 seasons, they expected to be non-compliant in 2025-26. LMW also reported that water taken at the Lake Cullulleraine offtake 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
  • Murray urban bulk entitlement by exceeding the nominal volumes listed of water that can be taken at the Mildura/Mildura West and Piangil offtakes, and the Koondrook-Kerang pipeline. Variances in the volume taken are permitted providing the total water allowed under the bulk entitlement is not exceeded.
• The Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) reported one compliance difficulty for the Murray system, noting that the metering plan for the River Murray - Mitigation Water Environmental Entitlement Order 2023 had not been completed by the 2025 deadline, but it had been developed and had an expected completion in 2025-26.

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 2024-25, 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 45,602 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
• River Murray - Mitigation Water Environmental Entitlement 2023, which includes 1,280 ML of high-reliability and 441 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
• 397,674 ML of high-reliability water shares and 44,209 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 334,813 ML of environmental water was sourced from the Murray basin in 2024-25. Of this, 43,853 ML was diverted off-stream. The remaining 290,961 ML was delivered in-stream in the Murray River.

A total of 544,900 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.