Reservoir · Tasmania · Australia · BOM Water Data Online
Lake Murchison
17.8% full
Capacity
96.9 hm³
Volume stored
17 hm³
River
Murchison River
Year completed
1982
Coordinates
41.863°S, 145.740°E
Last updated
2026-10-12
Current fill
17.8%vs 7 days ago
-2.9%losing
vs 1 year ago
-49.3%year-over-year
7-day trend
↓falling
Drought context
Storage vs October average
46%of normal
17.8% full on 2026-10-12, against an average of 38.3% for October across 4 years of readings (-20.5 points).
Rain over the last three months · 21 September 2026
Near normal
In the three months to 21 September 2026 the area around Lake Murchison had rain close to normal for the season. Rainfall compared with the long-run record for the same season at this point (Copernicus Global Drought Observatory, SPI-3 index −0.53). Rain, not storage. Australia drought figures →
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology — Water Data Online (KiWIS) — daily mean storage volume, quality-controlled. Capacity from the BOM Water Storages ArcGIS layer (total design capacity in ML). Last reading: 2026-10-12.
Catchment Weather
Past 30 days + 14-day forecast · Open-Meteo
Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics. Map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors. -41.863, 145.740 · Open in Google Maps
About Lake Murchison
As of October 12, 2026, Lake Murchison is filled to 17.8% of its total capacity, holding roughly 17 hm³ of water out of a maximum 97 hm³. At this level the reservoir is critically low.
Over the most recent week on record the fill level has fallen by 2.9 percentage points, and it is 49.3 points below its level on the same date a year earlier.
Across the readings we hold for Lake Murchison — 1094 data points between October 15, 2023 and October 12, 2026 — the level has ranged from a low of 6.0% (June 16, 2025) to a high of 75.4% (September 2, 2024). On average the reservoir is fullest around September and at its lowest around May.
The dam at Lake Murchison was completed in 1982. It is operated by BOM primarily for water supply. It lies within the Murchison River Basin basin at 41.863°S, 145.740°E.
Key facts
- Current fill level
- 17.8%
- Water stored
- 17 hm³
- Total capacity
- 97 hm³
- 7-day change
- ▼ 2.9 pts
- Year-on-year
- ▼ 49.3 pts
- Primary use
- Water supply
- River
- Murchison River
- River basin
- Murchison River Basin
- Year completed
- 1982
- Operator
- BOM
- Coordinates
- 41.863°S, 145.740°E
- Last updated
- October 12, 2026
Recent readings
| Date | Fill level | Volume (hm³) |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Oct 2026 | 17.8% | 17 |
| 11 Oct 2026 | 13.4% | 13 |
| 10 Oct 2026 | 13.9% | 13 |
| 9 Oct 2026 | 15.0% | 15 |
| 8 Oct 2026 | 16.9% | 16 |
| 7 Oct 2026 | 18.6% | 18 |
| 6 Oct 2026 | 18.2% | 18 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 20.7% | 20 |
| 4 Oct 2026 | 22.4% | 22 |
| 3 Oct 2026 | 24.4% | 24 |
| 2 Oct 2026 | 28.2% | 27 |
| 1 Oct 2026 | 27.5% | 27 |