Changes to interstate River Murray lock operation

Travellers on the River Murray between Lock Seven and Nine are advised to be aware of potential changes to lock opening hours, while SA Water balances maintenance duties for its cross-border workforce who are implementing COVID-19 management measures.

On behalf of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, SA Water manages Locks One to Six in South Australia as well as Lock Seven at Rufus River and Lock Eight at Wangumma in New South Wales, and Lock Nine at Kulnine in Victoria.

SA Water Senior Manager of River Murray Operations Garry Fyfe said the three interstate locks may need to be closed for a few hours at a time, while a team member is helping out with work at another site.

“At least two people are needed to safely undertake routine activity to remove or replace concrete stoplogs in the weir structures to let more water downstream and regulate the height of the weir pool,” Garry said.

“While we usually have flexibility in the wider team to travel between locks to assist with maintenance tasks like this, we’ve made the call to limit movement in and out of Victoria in particular at the moment.

“Our team is currently able to travel across state borders if required, but they are trying to remain within their respective states.

“With the work dependent on weather, it’s difficult to provide advance notice of the closures, so our lock attendants will place signage up at the relevant lock office.”

Locks one to six are still able to operate as usual, but river travellers still need to be aware of COVID-19 related changes that were initiated earlier this year.

“At the direction of the State Government and on the advice of SA Health, border patrols were put in place as part of efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in South Australia, resulting in impacts to travel through Lock Six,” Garry said.

“All vessels wanting to access Lock Six at Murtho must continue to contact us first to arrange upstream or downstream movement, and any vessels downstream of Lock Six will be required to provide South Australia Police with information and may be subject to a written direction to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days.”

For information on standard River Murray lock opening hours, visit sawater.com.au.

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