The Victorian government will not be ordering any drinking water from its big desalination plant this year as many regions still recover from last year's floods.
The government has declared Melbourne's drinking water is secure for the year ahead after three consecutive La Nina events caused devastation in many areas, particularly along the Murray River.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issue an El Nino watch for this year.
The city's water storage levels are today at 91 per cent.
Water Minister Harriet Shing said based on the storage levels, projected weather patterns, and demand, there is no requirement for a desalination order this year.
The $3.5 billion desalination plant commissioned in 2012 can deliver up to a third of Melbourne's annual needs.
Melbourne has 10 water storages but the key reservoir is the Thomson and Upper Yarra.
The Thomson makes up more than half of the city's storage capacity and is at 91 per cent capacity.
Capable of producing 150 gigalitres of drinking water a year, the Wonthaggi plant has delivered 451 gigalitres of desalinated water in the past decade.
Building of the plant started in 2009 when the Thomson was down to 16.5pc in the Millennium Drought but by the time it was finished, storages were up to 81pc and the plant was immediately mothballed.
NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia also have desal plants.
The Victorian government said demand from the rainfall-dependent water sources already outstrips supply.
Melburnians use 50 to 70 gigalitres more water each year than what flows into the storages.
In a severe drought, storage levels can drop by 20 per cent in a year, the government said.
The desalination plant is designed to help the state avoid water shortages and adverse social and economic impacts of water restrictions on households, businesses, and farmers.
Ms Shing said: "While above-average rainfall means an order of water is not required this year, our desalination plant is a critical part of our long-term water supply - we keep our water storages as high as possible to protect water security for the future.
"We are acting on the best advice about our water resource position - adapting to the very rare event of three successive La Nina events and the wet conditions we've experienced over the past three years."
Meanwhile in South Australia, the government is proposing to build a desalinisation plant at Billy Lights Point on the Eyre Peninsula to avoid the EP running out of water by 2025.
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
