Murrumbidgee I Water Source and Murrumbidgee II Water Source

Environmental releases are occurring under the Commonwealth’s Upper Murrumbidgee Drought Operating Framework (UMDOF) and the Snowy Montane Rivers Increased Flows (SMRIF) program. A previous section 324 order protected the planned SMRIF releases, however this new order is required to protect both releases. 

The UMDOF releases aim to avoid the critical impacts that drought conditions have on communities and the environment in the Upper Murrumbidgee. UMDOF releases complement the SMRIF program by triggering releases during extreme dry periods where there is not sufficient SMRIF water available for the environment. UMDOF releases from Tantangara Dam are made when flow drops below pre-defined low flow triggers. Further information on the framework can be found here: Upper Murrumbidgee Drought Operating Framework. 

During the restriction period, several small SMRIF releases are planned, with a high likelihood that additional UMDOF releases are also made beyond current releases. The releases are designed to maintain key instream refuges and avoid cease-to-flow conditions. 

A temporary water restriction, under section 324 of the Water Management Act 2000, will be imposed to protect the environmental flows from extraction by unregulated licence holders. The order effectively increases the access threshold of the unregulated river access licences by the estimated volume of environmental flow passing the two reference gauges for the Murrumbidgee I and II water sources. The order replaces the previous order, as it now accounts for UMDOF releases as well as SMRIF releases. These water sources are described in the Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Regulated River Water Source 2025. 

Any water in the river above the increased thresholds will still be available to unregulated licence holders. The section 324 order will not impact access for domestic and stock licence holders, so they can continue to extract water during the restrictions.

The current UMDOF releases aim to maintain a flow of 32ML/d at Mittagang. This flow should already be protected from unregulated river access licences in Murrumbidgee I, as these licences cannot pump when flows drop below the cease to pump (CTP) thresholds of 33ML/d. However, Snowy Hydro Limited normally release additional water because infrastructure limitations make it difficult to maintain exactly 32ML/d. This means that it is likely that the UMDOF releases from Tantangara will cause flows to increase above the CTP thresholds and be available for extraction. We have therefore increased the CTP for Murrumbidgee I to 43ML/d at Mittagang, to allow for protection of these additional releases. The CTP for Murrumbidgee II will also be increased, from 27ML/d to 36ML/d to protect these flows. On some days, a higher CTP is required to also protect SMRIF releases.
 

How to comply with the temporary water restriction

If you are an unregulated access licence holder in either the Murrumbidgee I or II water source, you can only pump during the 9-28 February 2026  period if flows at your flow reference gauge are above the temporarily increased commence-to-pump thresholds for that day, as published in Table 1 of the Temporary Water Restriction Order and also published in the access announcement on the WaterInsights page for the Murrumbidgee I and Murrumbidgee II.

For further instructions on how to comply, follow the “how-to guide” on WaterNSW’s WaterInsights page for the Murrumbidgee II.

Reasons for decision

Section 324 of the Water Management Act 2000 allows the Minister or delegate to order that temporary water restrictions within a water source(s) are to have effect for a specified period, if these restrictions are determined to be in the public interest.

Examples of the public interest referred to in section 324(1) are “to cope with a water shortage, threat to public health or safety or to manage water for environmental purposes”.

It is in the public interest to make an order to restrict access of the environmental flow in the upper Murrumbidgee River in the Murrumbidgee I and II Water Sources to manage water for environmental purposes, for the following reasons:

• the drought releases are only available due to Commonwealth funding to mitigate risks to the health of the upper Murrumbidgee River during drought
• the environmental releases are designed to avoid catastrophic environmental outcomes and impacts on aquatic fauna by maintaining key instream refuges and avoiding cease-to-flow conditions.
• if the environmental release took place without a restriction, unregulated river access licences holder could lawfully extract the resulting environmental flows, limiting the environment outcomes described above and working against the public interest.

Accordingly, the section 324 order is being made to protect the delivery of environmental water in the upper Murrumbidgee River.

The section 324 order also includes the ability to lift restrictions, for example if the UMDOF releases cease or if rainfall causes increased flows and the UMDOF releases were no longer at risk of extraction.

Allan Raine
Acting Executive Director, Water Operations and Resilience
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

6 February 2026