Victorian Water Resource Outlook 2026-27

The Resource Manager for northern Victoria today released the first outlook for 2026/27 seasonal determinations.

Northern Victorian Resource Manager Mark Bailey said seasonal determinations against high-reliability water shares (HRWS) in the 2026/27 water year would depend heavily on weather and catchment conditions during winter and spring and the amount of carried over unused allocation.

“After consecutive years of below-average inflows, the storages are at their lowest levels since 2020. Resources for 2026/27 system operating requirements are secure in the Murray, Goulburn, Campaspe and Loddon systems. However, reserves for seasonal determinations are not as large as recent years.

“Without an increase in the stored volumes, opening seasonal determinations in the Murray, Goulburn, Campaspe and Loddon systems are likely to be low.

“Inflows into the southern Murray catchments and the Goulburn system this water year have been slightly better than the dry outlook scenario. A repeat of these inflows in 2026/27 would result in seasonal determinations of about 75 per cent in the Murray system and 50 per cent in the Goulburn by mid-February 2027.

For further information visit NVRM.net.au