Pre-releases of water from the Burrinjuck and Blowering dams will result in minor floods along the Murrumbidgee and Tumut rivers this weekend, where catchments are already saturated.
Minor flooding is expected to occur along the Murrumbidgee River at Darlington Point today and could reach 5.50 metres, which is 0.10 metres above capacity. Minor flooding is generally considered an inconvenience and will at worst result in road closure along the river.
But SES Southern Zone Deputy Commander Barry Griffiths has advised residents of Berrigan and Murrumbidgee to, ‘‘prepare whilst you can’’.
‘‘Anyone with property or livestock close to the water, should move their animals and equipment to higher ground,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re looking at a season with above average rainfall and flooding is possible; there may not be time to prepare later.’’
Though the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicts modest rainfall this weekend, it is unlikely to impact flood levels.
The same cannot be said about predictions beyond this week, which the BOM reports to be ‘above average’.
The Hume Dam — currently exceeding 80 per cent capacity — has also announced its intention to make ‘modest pre-releases this month’.
It’s a scenario Mr Griffiths says, ‘‘is most comparable to that of 2016’’.
In 2016 Deniliquin’s Edward River peaked at 8.62 metres on October 17 and the Murray River at Tocumwal peaked at 7.37m.
Both were above major flood level.
The resulting flood wrought millions of dollars in damages, much of which still hasn’t been recovered by landholders, who overwhelmingly blame the mismanagement of Hume Dam for the ‘man-made’ flood.
‘‘That’s the fairest and closest comparison,’’ Mr Griffiths said, ‘‘however, it could still go either way.’’
The SES has been approached by the Murray Darling Basin Authority to minimise the effect of the Hume Dam’s forecasted pre-release later this month.
However, since being contacted by the Authority last Monday, no further information — including the date or scale of the intended pre-release — has been made available to NSW SES.
‘‘There’s already a lot of stress in the community,’’ Mr Griffiths said.
‘‘So, time permitting, which it currently is, we will be engaging one-on-one with at-risk communities about how best to prepare.
‘‘Our strategy is to work with the community in preparing fast and early.’’
