Following what is now officially the wettest summer in over 100 years in the Jindabyne catchment, high inflows are now continuing into autumn.
Additional releases to the Snowy River below Jindabyne Dam commenced on 7 March to manage the high inflows. Inflows to the storage have continued at elevated rates and the storage is now at 99% and rising.
Controlled releases from the dam are set to increase today from 3,000 megalitres per day up to 4,000 megalitres. These releases will be greater than the environmental releases notified on Snowy Hydro’s website and may change at short notice in response to the weather conditions. Releases are expected to continue at these elevated rates for the next week or until Jindabyne dam levels can be lowered.
If Lake Jindabyne reaches 100%, it will trigger operation of the spillway gates. Dam safety is paramount at this time and the spillway gates will automatically release water at any time the storage reaches or exceeds 100%.
NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE Water) has been consulted on this plan and continues to work closely with Snowy Hydro to make controlled releases to manage the spill risks and minimise downstream impacts.
For the community, the most important message is to stay safe and well-informed. The public can stay updated about flood alerts here:
For more information about releases into the Snowy River visit:
https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/generation/live-data/lake-levels/ and
https://dpie.nsw.gov.au/water/home
Snowy Hydro will continue to keep the community informed about management of water in Lake Jindabyne through its website and social media channels.
DPE Water will engage with landowners subscribed to its SMS service.