River Murray swamps may flood this spring

Low-lying areas along the River Murray may be inundated next month, but any problems are not likely to be widespread.

That was the advice of the state Department for Environment and Water on Friday.

Flows of water across the border from Victoria were projected to peak in late October at 75 to 80 gigalitres per day, or about double the usual rate of flow, department spokeswoman Kimberley Williamson said.

At that rate, modelling showed, it was possible that the swamps along the Lower Murray could be flooded, and that water would reach higher than usual at places like Sturt Reserve and Long Island Reserve in Murray Bridge.

However, it would not be considered a flood unless flows were projected to pass 100,000GL/day.

At that point, the State Emergency Service would issue warnings and give out sandbags if required.

The river level at Murray Bridge was just eight centimetres above normal on Friday.

It was hard to predict how much higher it might get next month, the department said.

For reference, though, the river reached a level 60cm above normal during the last period of high flows, in 2016.

• View a map of areas which could be impacted if flows reach 80GL/day: Visit www.waterconnect.sa.gov.au, select your council district and click on “high flow mapping of the River Murray” in the panel on the right-hand side of the page.
• View current SES warnings: www.ses.sa.gov.au.
• More information about river levels: www.waterconnect.sa.gov.au.
• More information about preparing for a flood: www.ses.sa.gov.au.

Correction: An earlier version of this story included figures in the thousands of gigalitres, instead of gigalitres.

You can help keep local stories like this one free for everyone to read. Subscribe to Murray Bridge News today and support your independent, locally owned news service, plus get access to exclusive stories you won’t find anywhere else, from just $5 a month.