Water Update - 11 December

• BUYER of 150 megalitres of Murray Irrigation General Security at $1,700 per megalitre, inclusive of 2023/24 allocation
  
• SELLER of 100 megalitres zone 11 temporary at $140 per megalitre
  
• SELLERS of various sized parcels of Murrumbidgee temporary at $165 per megalitre
• SELLER of 100 megalitres Lachlan temporary at $125 per megalitre
• SELLERS of various sized parcels of zone 10 temporary at $70 per megalitre

Allocations

Current allocations are as follows:

Supplementary Events

There are some areas where supplementary flows remain active, details of which can be found by clicking the following links: 

• Murrumbidgee

Trade Restrictions

MURRUMBIDGEE/MURRAY IVT 
Current balances are as follows: 

• 90.6 gigalitres (GL)  is tradeable from the Murrumbidgee into the NSW Murray 
• 9.4 GL is tradeable from the Murray into the Murrumbidgee

There has been no change to these figures in the last 10 weeks.

BARMAH CHOKE  
Is closed. 
 
VICTORIAN RISK OF SPILL 
The Resource Manager for northern Victoria today updated the 2023/24 risk of spill information for the Murray, Goulburn and Campaspe systems. The spill risk in the Murray system has fallen below the threshold needed for a declaration of a low risk of spill and, as such, allocation held in spillable water accounts in the Murray system will be returned to allocation accounts. The risk of spill and potential for further deductions from spillable water accounts in the Goulburn system is about 70 pc and about 20 pc in the Campaspe system.  

Storages

According to the Bureau of Meterorology (BOM), storage levels are currently as follows:

Current Temporary Market

Temporary markets have firmed up over the past week, which is unsurprising given the amount of crop in the ground, no allocation increase, no rainfall on the horizon and warmer weather. With summer irrigating ramping up, I expect it is only a matter of time until we see demand really increase and prices rise. 

Indicative prices are as follows:

Current Permanent Market 

Indicative pricing is as follows:

Seasonal Outlook

The BOM released an updated outlook on 7 December. The full outlook can be viewed by clicking here but, in summary: 

• January to March rainfall is likely to be below average across much of the north, west and south-east Australia.
  
• January to March maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to very likely to be above average for Australia.
• January to March maximum and minimum temperatures are at least 2.5 times more likely than normal to be unusually high for much of Australia. Unusually high temperatures equate to the warmest 20 pc of January to March periods from 1981 to 2018.
  
• The long-range forecast is influenced by several factors, including the active El Niño and easing positive Indian Ocean Dipole events, and record warm oceans globally.

_{The information contained in this article is given for the purpose of providing general information only, and while Elders has exercised reasonable care, skill and diligence in its preparation, many factors (including environmental and seasonal) can impact its accuracy and currency. Accordingly, the information should not be relied upon under any circumstances and Elders assumes no liability for any loss consequently suffered. If you would like to speak to someone for tailored advice relating to any of the matters referred to in this article, please contact Elders.}