MDBA Executive Director of River Management, Andrew Reynolds said work to remove the weir was expected to commence 20 July and would take approximately 8 days to complete.
“There has been an increased amount of water flowing into the Murray River over the last few weeks, mostly from the Goulburn, Ovens and Murrumbidgee rivers. Increased releases from Hume dam are also beginning to arrive at Mildura,” said Mr Reynolds.
“When flows reach about 42,000 megalitres per day it is regular practice for the weir to be taken out and we are expecting these high flows by the end of this month.
“Boats wanting to pass through Lock 11 should do so before next week. Once the weir is removed boats will be able to travel via the river without using the lock.”
The water level upstream of the weir will drop quickly by around 1.0 metre once the weir is removed. As the higher flows arrive, the river will begin to rise again.
“We’re asking all river users to be mindful of the changing river levels and to move pumps as needed.”
The Mildura weir was removed twice last year, once in June for maintenance and later in August to allow flood waters to pass through.
“The weir will be reinstated once flows drop below 40,000 megalitres per day.”
“We will provide updates and notify the community before the weir is reinstated.”
There are currently no plans to remove Euston or Wentworth weirs, however the situation is being constantly reviewed as forecasts are updated.
Keep up to date about flood warnings and river levels at the following sites:
- The Bureau of Meteorology: www.bom.gov.au/australia/warnings and www.bom.gov.au/australia/flood
- The MDBA River Operations Weekly Report: https://www.mdba.gov.au/water-management/regular-reports-murray-data-storages/weekly-reports
- The MDBA river data: https://riverdata.mdba.gov.au/system-view
The Mildura Weir and Lock 11 are operated and maintained by Goulburn–Murray Water on behalf of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority.
ENDS