The opening water allocation for the South Australian River Murray has risen to 26 percent, based on data released by the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) today.
Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said the continued improvement to the allocation figure is good news for South Australian River Murray water entitlement holders.
"In the last few months we've seen the minimum opening allocation increase from 14 percent to 22 percent," said Minister Speirs.
"We're now at 26 percent and these continuing improvements are a positive sign for South Australian River Murray water users as we remain hopeful for further rises as the main in-flow season progresses.
"It's vital we manage our water responsibly to achieve long-lasting benefits for the River Murray and water users, including primary producers, industry, recreational users and the environment.
"I will continue to work constructively with the Federal and other State Governments to ensure we get the best possible outcome for all South Australians.
"As I announced in April, private carryover will be available for eligible entitlement holders in 2019-20."
After two consecutive years with low rainfall and inflows across the Murray-Darling Basin, the volume of water in Murray-Darling Basin Authority controlled storages is around 35 percent of capacity and increasing.
DEW River Murray Water Operations Manager Jarrod Eaton said that the opening allocation is based on the latest advice from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
"Recent rainfall across key catchment areas in the southern Murray-Darling Basin has been a positive sign," said Mr Eaton.
"However, the Bureau of Meteorology's long-term weather outlook indicates that drier and warmer than average conditions are likely over the next three months.
"Given that most inflows to the River Murray system historically occur between July and November, we will be monitoring the resource condition extremely closely.
"We continue to remain hopeful that we'll see reasonable improvements over the coming months to further improve allocations."
Based on climate of the last 30 years and current resource condition, there is 90 percent likelihood that allocations will reach at least 85 percent in 2019-20. For more information about water allocations, members of the community can visit the Department for Environment and Water's website.
