Sunraysia river users are reminded the Mildura weir pool level will be lowered and Lock 11 will close on Wednesday, May 20.
The weir pool level is likely to remain low for up to 2.5 months (10 weeks) and Lock 11 will be closed for up to four months while essential maintenance work is done.
The weir pool will be gradually lowered over a 7-9 day period to about 3.6 metres below full supply level, depending on river flows. It is expected to return to full supply level by late July.
The river level immediately downstream of the weir is expected to rise by up to one metre during the first few days that water is released from the weir pool.
Boat operators, river pumpers, stock owners and others along the river between Mildura and Wentworth are advised to take this into account and adjust their activities as necessary.
Lock 11 will be closed to boat traffic from 4.30pm on Wednesday May 20, and will remain closed for 3-4 months while the lock is refurbished. The extent of work to be done will be determined once the lock is empty and can be inspected.
MDBA River Management head David Dreverman said the works had been scheduled to cause the least disruption to river users.
"We appreciate the community's understanding while we do these works," he said.
"It's important that we maintain the weir so the river can be properly managed and reliably support surrounding industries.
“It’s possible the low river levels will increase the amount of salty groundwater entering the river, so river pumpers might want to fill their off-river storages before the weir pool is lowered.
"To help dilute any salt in the river, we’re carefully timing the release of flows from Lake Mulwala and using the end-of-season drainage of irrigation systems. Any salinity spikes in downstream flows will be diverted through Lake Victoria for dilution before entering SA.”
The MDBA will continue to closely monitor river and salinity levels while the weir pool is lowered.
