Southern Australia dam levels dropping: Hume Dam at 25 per cent

Amid a dry start to the year dam levels are dropping with one of the nation’s major storages dipping to levels not seen since 2020.

One of southern Australia’s biggest water storages has dropped to its lowest level in five years as the effects of a dry summer and autumn take their toll on dam levels.

As of Friday last week, the Hume Dam was sitting at 25 per cent capacity – the lowest since 2020 when it dropped to 15.6 per cent.

Dam levels dropped over summer due to irrigator demand, environmental flows and a commitment to supply South Australia.

On January 1 this year, Lake Eildon was 82.6 per cent full (now 63.8 per cent), Lake Hume was 54.9 per cent full (now 25.1 per cent) and Dartmouth Dam was 88.7 per cent full (now 79.2 per cent).

Murray Darling Basin Authority river management executive director Jacqui Hickey said balancing water inflows, storages and releases could be challenging.

“But we’re in a strong position for this time of year,” Ms Hickey said.

“The MDBA prepared for several scenarios during the water year and have actively managed the river and storages to the conditions.”

She said the Hume Dam level was low as a result of lower-than-average rainfall throughout the summer months.

“Dam levels fluctuate regularly depending on demand for water in the (Murray Darling) basin, and water usage of the Hume is supplemented by the much larger Dartmouth Dam up stream,” Ms Hickey said.

“That water level is going to look and feel very different for local communities, particularly given the string of very wet years in 2022 and 2023 when we were in flood conditions and storages in Hume were very high.

“The good news for locals is we are nearing the end of the peak of the irrigation season, meaning management of the Hume will shift to capturing water for storage in preparation for next summer.”

Further south, Lake Eildon is currently holding 64 per cent of capacity, down from the 85 per cent in mid-December last year.

Goulburn Murray Water delivery services general manager Warren Blyth said there was still plenty of water.

“While storage levels have fallen over the past 12 months, water availability in our region

remains high, with more than six million megalitres still held in GMW-managed storages,” Mr Blyth said.

“Many of our storages have received below-average inflows in the past year due to the dry

weather.

“Irrigation demand has also been exceptionally high, meaning large volumes of water have

been released from our storages to meet these demands.”