Higher than average rainfall has resulted in water storage levels along the Murray-Darling Basin to be “near full” and/or “spilling” along various points, with one area hitting a six-year high, a report has found.
This comes as Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy criticises the federal government’s policy to recover the controversial 450 gigalitres of water for the environment through “efficiency measures.”
According to the annual operating outlook report (pdf) by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Hume Dam in the Riverina region of New South Wales is sitting at 95 percent capacity, Dartmouth Dam in North-Eastern Victoria recorded 97 percent, Menindee Lakes in South-West NSW has reached 115 percent, and Lake Victoria along South Australian border recorded 63 percent….