River Murray SA

03/09/2026

Today’s soundtrack: frog calls live from the Lower Lakes.

Check out the loud chorus of activity from a wetland in the Lower Lakes! 🔊 How many different species of frog can you hear?

Sound recording units were deployed last spring and summer to capture frog calls in Lower Lakes wetlands. The nightly audio data was used to investigate how managing lake water levels through environmental water delivery affects frog diversity and abundance.

Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert provide important breeding habitat for eight species of frog. Water for the environment is essential for supporting frog breeding and recruitment as it creates seasonal fluctuations in water levels that inundate temporary wetlands and fringing vegetation.

Lower Lakes frog monitoring is funded by The Living Murray and delivered by the Department for Environment and Water and the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board. The Living Murray is a joint initiative funded by the New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian and Commonwealth Governments, coordinated by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

01/09/2026

The Shorebird and Wetland Habitat program is continuing to restore wetlands across the Coorong and South East at a time when resilient shorebird habitats have never been more critical.

Healthy ecosystems are essential to the health of native wildlife, as well as providing a variety of critical foraging and breeding areas for shorebirds that take up residence in Australian wetlands every year.
We want to shout-out to our project partners for these recent project milestones.

▪️The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board completed works to allow water into the south basin at Milang Snipe Sanctuary, while retaining water already present in the north basin.

These works have created an additional 3 hectares of habitat available for Latham’s snipes, which consistently visit the sanctuary each year from September to April. The area is also popular with culturally important species, including kungari/black swan and krauli/white-faced heron.

▪️BirdLife Australia and the Yarluwar-Ruwe rangers (Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation) completed w**d mapping along the Coorong’s Ocean Beach on the Young Husband Peninsula and planted nearly 800 spinifex seedlings across four sites frequented by ngamat/hooded plovers.

Replacing introduced grass species with native spinifex restores the shape and slope of dunes, increasing the availability of suitable hooded plover nesting sites.

▪️Kumarangk Hindmarsh Island Landcare (KHILG) is planting the last of 21,000 native seedlings across waterfront sites at the Murray Mouth. A mix of native seedlings selected for each site will attract varied wildlife, including the pilambi/yellow-tailed black cockatoo that enjoy feeding on the seeds of drooping sheoak.

Congratulations to KHILG for reaching a major milestone this year, with 750,000 seedlings planted in the Murray Mouth estuary since 2001.

▪️The South Eastern Water Conservation and Drainage Board is upgrading the inlet regulator at Frosty’s Swamp in the upper South East to allow better water management of the swamp and connected wetlands of the Tilley Swamp watercourse. These works will also provide habitat for shorebirds in an area that traditionally lacks summer refuge.

These are just four of the projects being delivered by partner organisations as part of the Shorebird and Wetland Habitat project, funded by the Australian Government and implemented by the Government of South Australia.

Australia

27/08/2026

Happy World Lakes Day to Lake Alexandrina!

Did you know that Lake Alexandrina (and Lake Albert) form part of the River Murray weir pool between Lock 1 at Blanchetown and the Lower Murray barrages?

Lake Alexandrina is separated from the Coorong by five barrages which control water levels and flow. There are 11 fishways which allow native fish such as lamprey and congoli to migrate between Lake Alexandrina and the Coorong. Water for the environment has provided continual flow through these fishways.

The diversity of habitat types and biota make Lake Alexandrina an important part of this Ramsar-listed wetland. What unusual native fish, birds, insects or plants have you seen at Lake Alexandrina?

27/08/2026

Happy World Lakes Day to Lake Albert (Yarli* in Ngarrindjeri language). Do you have a favourite place to visit at Lake Albert?

Water for the environment is critical for the ecology of the lake. In the last three years, without water for the environment, many of Lake Albert’s fringing wetlands would have dried out, and surface water salinity would have increased.

The reedy lakeshore near Waltowa wetland is special for the Ngarrindjeri people as it is a known black swan (kungari) breeding area.

There is another large, non-native bird associated with Lake Albert and Meningie. Do you know what it is?

*This post previously listed the name as Kurilpang, but the Ngarrinjeri Aboriginal Corporation (NAC), through the Ngarrindjeri Language Group, has since confirmed Yarlis is the preferred placename for Lake Albert.

18/08/2026

Several South Australian councils will share more than $32m in funding from the Australian Government to drive water savings in the Murray-Darling Basin.

City of Salisbury, SA, Australia, City Of Charles Sturt, City of Playford, City of Marion and City of Onkaparinga and the Eastern Region Alliance Water ‒ a joint venture between City of Burnside City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters, and Town of Walkerville‒ have received funding under the South Australian Alternative Water Supply Efficiency Measures (AWSEM) Program.

The AWSEM Program supports local governments to build infrastructure that reduces the amount of water they draw from the River Murray.

The projects will allow councils to use alternative water sources, such as captured stormwater or treated wastewater, to offset industrial use and irrigate parklands and ovals helping to save potable water and improve water security for green areas in a drying climate.

17/08/2026

South Australia has seen a lot of rain in recent weeks! And there could be more on the way this week, potentially impacting existing water levels.

If you have a dam on your property, it's your responsibility to make sure it's safe for downstream communities.

Following the recent rains, please be sure to inspect your dam and check for any damage or issues.

For dam safety tips and guides, including a dam safety checklist visit https://bit.ly/saprivatedams

South Australia has seen a lot of rain in recent weeks! And there could be more on the way this week, potentially impacting existing water levels.

If you have a dam on your property, it's your responsibility to make sure it's safe for downstream communities.

Following the recent rains, please be sure to inspect your dam and check for any damage or issues.

For dam safety tips and guides, including a dam safety checklist visit https://bit.ly/saprivatedams

12/08/2026

Water brings the birds to Gum Flat!

Water for the environment delivered to Gum Flat on the Chowilla Floodplain is providing valuable habitat and food resources for more than 2,500 waterbirds from over 20 different species. Recent observations include large numbers of Grey Teal and Eurasian Coot and some less common species like Australasian Shoveler, Chestnut Teal and Blue-billed Duck.

A male Musk Duck was also observed displaying breeding behaviour. Males advertise themselves loudly with a repetitive sequence of sounds: first, a ker-plonk splash made with the feet on the surface of the water; then two soft, sharp cuc cuc calls; then a loud whistle and a deep grunt!

These outcomes are made possible through partnerships and collaboration with The Living Murray Program, SA Water, River Murray and Mallee Aboriginal Corporation, and National Parks and other teams across DEW.

10/08/2026

Following significant rainfall within the Sturt, Keswick and Brownhill Creek catchments, the Patawalonga Lake has been utilised, in conjunction with the Barcoo Outlet, to manage the increased inflows of stormwater.

Following significant rainfall within the Sturt, Keswick and Brownhill Creek catchments, the Patawalonga Lake has been utilised, in conjunction with the Barcoo Outlet, to manage the increased inflows of stormwater.

Due to the inflows, the Patawalonga Lake will be discoloured and may contain some small and large debris.

It is strongly recommended that recreational activities on the water are avoided until the system has cleared.

DEW will continue to monitor lake levels and water quality as further rain is forecast for the coming week.

The water in the lake will be circulated over the coming days to flush out the stormwater.

03/08/2026

Attention boaties!

The following river vessel waste disposal stations (RVWDS) will be CLOSED for pontoon repairs during the following dates:

• Renmark RVWDS: 10 Aug – 22 Aug
• Loxton RVWDS: 24 Aug – 5 Sept
• Morgan RVWDS: 7 Sept – 12 Sept

Please note this schedule is subject to change depending on weather conditions.

Temporary pump-out facilities will be available upstream of regular RVWDS sites.
View temporary pump out site locations here

River vessel users will be required to contact Riverland Tank and Drain Cleaners on (08) 8102 0998 to arrange a pump-out at a temporary pump-out site.

The minimum notice requirement for Renmark and Loxton will be 4 hours, with minimum 24 hours’ notice required for Morgan.

Please provide as much advance notice of your pump out needs as possible.

Boaties are encouraged to subscribe to the SA River Murray Flow Report (Weekly) for updated information on repairs as works progress.

Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/sa-river-murray-flow-report-newsletter
Read past reports here: https://bit.ly/sa-river-murray-flow-reports

17/07/2026

The CLLMM CAP Expressions of Interest has been extended!

If you are a community member of the Coorong, Lower Lakes or Murray Mouth region and have a passion for community participation and water resource management, we want to hear from you!

EOI extended until COB, Friday, 24 July