Australia Weather News

Months of heat and low rainfall have taken their toll on Tasmania's east coast, with the dry weather conditions stalling the first season of a new irrigation scheme.

The Swan River, which feeds the Swan Valley Irrigation Scheme, runs near Craigie Knowe Vineyard in Cranbrook, near Swansea.

Vineyard owner Glen Travers said the river was close to running dry.

"I measure it by a rock on the river, and I can see how full or empty it is based on that rock," he said.

"If the water's over the top, then there's a bit of water running, and if it's halfway down then we know it's really dry.

"At the moment it's almost at the bottom of it."

Mr Travers said it had been exceptionally dry, with his property recording less than half the expected average rainfall for the year.

"The rainfall recorded for this specific place is about 305 millimetres for last year and so far this year we've had about 35 mls," he said.

"The average we get for Cranbrook is about 660 [millimetres], so it's half what we normally get," he said.

Irrigator group chairman and Spring Vale Vineyard co-owner, Tim Lyne, said the Swan Valley Irrigation Scheme was completed last year and more than 20 title holders have signed up.

"There isn't enough water for an irrigation season to be offered," he said.

"So they're proposing — and that's subject to winter rain and autumn rain to fill the dam — the first irrigation season to be September 1, 2018."

He said Tasmanian Irrigation was yet to charge farmers for the scheme.

Spring Vale Vineyard co-owner Rodney Lyne said the grapes did not mind the weather.

"We've had sufficient irrigation water, and so it's actually been quite comfortable, but from a farming point of view, I have cattle as well, it's been very dry," he said.

Mr Lyne said his area had not had any decent rain since 2016.

"We're all hanging out for a good autumn break," he said.

Farmer David Amos has been recording rainfall on his property for nearly 50 years.

"Last year was only virtually two rains, one was in May and one was in December and the rest were only about 6 mls," he said.

Mr Amos has also signed up to the irrigation scheme.

"It's certainly going to be a benefit when the dam does fill, but that's the point, when is it going to fill?"

Climatologist Ian Barnes-Keoghan said the warm summer started early.

"What we have seen is very warm temperatures, which started not just in summer but right back in October," he said.

"The totals over this month so far and the last couple of weeks have been quite low, and most places have been seeing only 10 or 20 millimetres over the last few weeks."