THE water levels at Lake Eildon have started the year off at a three-year low, with levels this low not seen since 2016.
The current levels are at 1,800,069ML, which is just 53.99 percent of the storage capacity. At the same time last year, the levels were recorded at 2,471,794.54ML which was 74.14 percent of the storage capacity.
Comparing that with previous years, the storage levels were over 2,500,000ML in 2015 and 2017 at the beginning of January, but historical records show that the water levels typically rise between August and October.
Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) manager river operations, Andrew Shields said, “Conditions have been very dry for an extended period. Inflows to Eildon over the last 12 months have been around 56 percent of average inflows. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Annual Climate Statement 2018 identified the year as being the third warmest on record.
“Demand for water out of Lake Eildon, from entitlement holders, has been high with the prevailing dry conditions.
“GMW manages the operations of Lake Eildon and it is operating as expected. Its water reserves have helped to enable the current seasonal determination against High Reliability Water Shares in the Goulburn system reach 94 percent.”
