SA Minister for the River Murray Karlene Maywald said about 200 gigalitres flowed into the River Murray system during October 2008, well below the long-term October average of 1390 GL.

"While there was a very small improvement of 24GL in the amount of water available to South Australia, this water must be put aside for critical human needs in 2009-10," Mrs Maywald said.

"Conditions across the Basin are still very dry, and storages are low.

"The total volume of water in storage in Hume and Dartmouth Reservoirs, Lake Victoria and Menindee Lakes is currently 2389GL, or 26pc, compared with 2001GL, or 21pc, at the same time last year."

Mrs Maywald says the July to October period is critical for River Murray system inflows, with about 65pc of the total annual inflow received during these months.

From July to October this year about 1185 GL of inflows have been recorded, while the long-term average is 5730 GL.

"As the period from November to March only yields about 20pc of the annual inflow into the River Murray system, the chance of any significant improvement during the remainder of 2008-09 is very unlikely," she said.

* For more information about conditions in the River Murray or wider Murray-Darling Basin visit www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au/murray/drough t/index.html