Wet winter sees River Murray roar with unexpected flows and life

Rain brings unexpected flows into South Australia's River Murray In short: A wet winter across the southern Murray Darling Basin has increased flows at South Australia's border to approximately 22.5 gigalitres a day. It is significantly more than SA has received in the previous two years. What's next? The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) expects flows will reduce at the end of August, before increasing again in September. Rain, hail or shine, Tasha Morath has made it routine to dive into the River Murray every day for about seven years. As flows increase to the highest levels since flooding in 2022-23, her daily swim has recently become more challenging. "I can definitely feel the resistance at the moment but there are still really good conditions still for fishing, boating, kayaking, skiing and all those sorts of things," Ms Morath said. "I just enjoy watching the pelicans come and go and they're happy at the moment. "There's plenty of fish, probably carp, jumping in the water at the moment." Approximately 22.5 gigalitres of water are flowing into South Australia every day at the moment, which has helped to revitalise the environment. It is a stark contrast to August during the previous two years, when the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) announced flows of just 8 gigalitres a day in 2025 and 4 gigalitres in 2024. What's next for the river in SA? DEW water delivery manager Damian Rowley said SA had not seen flows this significant since flooding in 2022-23. He said while this year's flows were not close to the level of the floods, they did show how significant the rainfall had been. "This increased flow has been a big improvement because it was looking pretty dry at the start of this calendar year," Mr Rowley said. "Increased flows are good environmentally; it's got benefits for fish, frogs and flood plain connection." The department updates the flow report weekly and expects it to recede in the coming weeks, before another boom heading into spring. "This most recent rainfall event across the Victorian tributaries will see us increase again through early September," Mr Rowley said Locals welcome the water For Canoe the Riverland owner and operator Brenton Carle, the recent flows came as a bit of a surprise given the forecast El Niño weather event. "The level of the river has gone up by probably 15 or 20 centimetres, which is fantastic for the ecosystem," he said. "Turtles are breeding and laying eggs and everything's looking really good. "You have your big yabby runs coming through, so there's lots of animals for the kids to catch." Mr Carle said the increased flows made the job of operating school camps in the backwaters of Renmark and Paringa easier. "When it starts to get a bit higher, it's actually really good because it opens up creeks that we normally can't get through," Mr Carle said. "Teachers that come back year on year, they've seen droughts, they've seen floods, they've seen a bit of everything. "When there's some good flows coming down, they know they can have a bit of an easier trip."