River Conditions
The Murray Darling Basin Authority through its partner governments, operates and maintains a network of remote hydrometric monitoring stations for the River Murray System. Murray River Trails monitors this information so that we know the flow rates well before a tour departs.
High River Flow Information
The Murray River is currently experiencing a natural flooding event with flows producing spectacular scenery.
As of January 2023 the river level has peaked and flows have begun to decrease.
A NATURAL RIVER PROCESS
Our Riverland towns in South Australia have lived through big flood events (1956, 1931, 1870) and are therefore well prepared. All of our towns are accessible and keen to host visitors who want to see a rare spectacular event such as this. Our broad river valley prevents sharp rises in water level and will slowly fill the red gum and dry box woodlands so needy of a thirst quenching drink.
Our award winning tours Murray River Walk and Murray River Safari will start operating again from March through to November 2023 and they will reveal the flourishing floodplain landscapes and the wildlife that will respond.
This is a spectacle not to be missed. We are excited and can’t wait to share it with you, especially with our new luxury houseboat High River (what a fortuitous name) as your home base.
It really is spectacular today and will be flourishing tomorrow!
Learn more about the importance of flood events from our Owner/Director Tony Sharley in this video CLICK HERE.
The Catchment area
The catchment area of the Murray River and Darling River systems — the Murray Darling Basin — is more than 1 million square kilometres. Water flows down many tributaries from the mountains of the Great Dividing Range in eastern Australia towards the Murray River in South Australia.
Water is held in storages in the mountains and released slowly down the system to meet irrigation demands, environmental needs and maintain a navigable river. During high rainfall periods flow will increase and water will slowly rise and can spread out onto the floodplains creating spectacular viewing and wildlife breeding conditions.
Murray River Trails always monitor river conditions to adapt its routes and itineraries accordingly.
In 2010 during the 2010/11 floods that broke the 15 year Millennium Drought, Tony Sharley developed a simple map to track flow down all of the rivers in the Basin. This map has been updated fortnightly ever since and forms part of our knowledge sharing on river flow conditions.
Most importantly, if there is a risk to your experience on Murray River Trails we will know within a month of your departure and adapt or advise you accordingly.
You can view the Flow Tracker information which is updated fortnightly by clicking here.
water temperatures
Water temperatures cool down from summer highs (27 degrees Celsius) through autumn (22C to 14C) to winter (14C to 11C), before they start warming again in spring from September to November (13C to 22C). A foot dip in the river is always on and swimming is a treat as the water warms.
Live Webcam of the river
You can see how the river looks right now by clicking on the button below with the Renmark Riverfront's live River webcam.
