AS a Darling River flood peak moves through Menindee, another flood is on its way to the Murray, via the Murrumbidgee.
The lower Murrumbidgee River is already running high at Balranald, where it has breached low banks and inundated parts of floodplain parklands, and the moderate flooding now being recorded far upstream at Narrandera is expected to be experienced at Hay by next week.
A flood warning issued by the Bureau of Meteorology states that “further rainfall is expected early next week, which may result in renewed river level rises in the upper parts of the Murrumbidgee catchment”.
The bureau says the minor flood level (6.5 metres) at Hay might be exceeded by mid-next week and that the river there could reach the moderate flood level of 7.5m by the end of the month. It also says that further rises are possible.
At Balranald weir, the Murrumbidgee was at 6.1m and steady over the weekend.
On the Darling, meanwhile, the bureau reports that a flood peak is now moving through Menindee, and that minor flooding is occurring there and downstream at Pooncarie and Burtundy.
It says the level at Menindee is likely to remain steady above the minor flood level through to the end of August, as WaterNSW plans to maintain current release levels from the Menindee Lakes. Releases from the lakes are, however, under constant review and subject to inflow conditions, so they may be increased.
Levels in the Darling channel are listed as “rising” at every measuring point from the Queensland-NSW border town of Mungindi (where the river is called the Barwon) to Tilpa, upstream of Wilcannia.
The Darling River at Pooncarie is expected to remain near 6.9m through to mid-September, with minor flooding. The river at Burtundy is likely to remain near 6.7m, also through to late next month, with minor flooding.
Minor flooding is also being seen in the upper reaches of the Murray.
The bureau says that spills from the Hume Dam, combined with flood waters from the Kiewa River, have caused minor flooding along the Murray River at Corowa, where river levels are expected to remain steady above the minor flood level of 4.6m for the next few days.
The Murray at Albury is expected to remain just below the minor flood level of 4.3m for the next few days.
