With criteria for the Storage Manager to consider a Rocklands Reservoir to Toolondo Reservoir transfer being satisfied, the Storage Manager has completed an assessment of the likely impacts on the system using the guiding principles described in the Storage Management Rules.

These guiding principles were applied to the current and projected short-term conditions of both storages to determine if a transfer of either 5,000 ML or 10,000 ML would provide a positive outcome for both storages and entitlement holders in the system.

Key notes from the assessment are:

• Although models indicate some minor evaporative savings by either transfer volume, these saving were wholly negated by the volume projected to be lost to dead storage and transfer losses.
• Any volume transferred to Toolondo Reservoir is not expected to reduce the salinity in the lake, to the point where the water could be extracted and utilised by known demands (potential to reduce from 4,000 EC to 2,700 EC). Therefore, the volume of water was considered lost to the system from a supply point of view.
• The loss of transferred water through channel losses and to dead storage would likely result in a reduction in the volume of available water calculated for the Wimmera Glenelg Headworks System. This is likely to cause a reduction in potential entitlement holder allocation and does not support entitlement holder reliability or access to water.
• It is acknowledged that Toolondo Reservoir still holds some recreational and environmental values which would benefit from a water transfer. While these are important they are not prioritised above entitlement holder reliability and access to water.

Considering the above, a water transfer from Rocklands Reservoir to Toolondo Reservoir is not supported at this time. This may be reconsidered if the resource position of Rocklands Reservoir materially changes over the next few months.