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Fitzroy: Outlook for 2022 Account

as at 1 December 2022

  • Rainfall is likely to be above average during the 2021–22 wet season.
  • Inflows into the region's storages are expected to be higher than last year.

 

Schematic representation of the Fitzroy region. In 2021–22, wet season rainfall is expected to be above average. End-of-year storage volume is likely to increase from last year. Water use is likely to decrease from last year.

 

For further information on the outlook for the region during the 2021–22 year scroll down this page or click on the links below:

 

Current water levels

  • Little rainfall has fallen across the region during July–November 2021, which is typical for this time of the year. Storage levels have continued to steadily decrease during this 5-month period.
  • Storages were 35% full at 1 December 2021 compared to 16% full at the same time last year.
  • More information on current storage levels in the region is available on the Bureau of Meteorology's Water Storage website.

 

Climate outlook

Map of Fitzroy region showing the spatial distribution of the chance of exceeding median rainfall in percentage categories for December 2021–February 2022. Rainfall has a greater than 75% chance of exceeding median rainfall during December 2021–February 2022 across most of the region and a greater than 70% chance of exceeding median rainfall across the north east of the region. Key aspects of the rainfall map are described in the text below the figure.
Figure S9 Chance of exceeding median rainfall for December 2021–February 2022

  • The next few months (December–February) are usually when about two thirds of the region's annual rainfall occurs. According to the Bureau of Meteorology's climate outlook (25 November 2021), rainfall is expected to be average during this period.
  • The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a La Niña phase however, this La Niña is likely to be short-lived, persisting only until the late summer or early autumn 2022.
  • Inflows into the region's aquifer storages for the 2021–22 year are expected to be average.

 

Future commitments

  • Water use is expected to be higher than 2020–21. Dry conditions in the previous few years resulted in reduced water allocated for irrigation. With a likely above-average rainfall outlook, it is expected that irrigation allocations and irrigation water use will expand to capitalise on better growing conditions.