KEY storage levels are dramatically higher than a year ago after the wet autumn kept demand for irrigation water in check.
At 9am yesterday, the "shared storages" of Lake Eildon and Waranga Basin were holding nearly 96 per cent more water than they were a year ago.
Lakes Hume and Dartmouth were collectively also holding 91 per cent more water than at the same time last year.
Goulburn Murray Water regulated systems acting manager Andrew Shields said the dams were the fullest they had been for this time of year since 2006.
"This is mainly due to the large volume of undelivered allocation remaining in each of the storages," Mr Shields said.
"Water held in Hume and Dartmouth has also been influenced by the volume of water from the Darling River, which has been assisting to meet demand downstream of Wentworth, reducing demand from upper Murray storages."
Mr Shields said inflows into Dartmouth and Eildon were above average in March but the critical period for inflows was between July and October.
Eildon was 24.3 per cent full yesterday, with 809,996 megalitres, compared to just 405,991 megalitres this time last year. Lake Hume is at 15.7 per cent of capacity, with 478,000 megalitres, compared to just 71,885 megalitres last year.
Dartmouth is 31 per cent full, with 1,215,137 megalitres, whereas this time last year it was holding 813,165 megalitres.
In Gippsland, Lake Glenmaggie is 42.8 per cent full with 76,054 megalitres. The storage held 50,000 megalitres at the same time last year.
