River Murray flows coming across the South Australian border are steadily increasing, but the state's water expert says the levels are not expected to flood towns.
Currently, each day about 80 gigalitres of water flows into SA's leg of the Murray from the eastern states, and levels will continue to rise until the expected daily peak of 120GL in early December.
But the Department for Environment and Water's (DEW) water delivery manager, Chrissie Bloss, says SA townships are not predicted to flood like Victorian communities.
"We expect it's going to stay mostly on the floodplains but not get into the towns and cause major damages we're seeing upstream," she said.
Flows are encroaching on low-lying campsites and walking trails in parts of the region, and some roads and infrastructure have been closed.
But Ms Bloss said SA river towns were developed at a time in history when high river flows were more frequent, which influenced the placement of town centres and residences.
She said the state's geographical "luxuries" of low-lying floodplains and elevated highlands also helped to prevent water from spilling into crucial areas.
"The river is quite deeply incised into the land around it," Ms Bloss said
"We've got the benefit of being able to put the development, the housing [and] the towns up high above the river.
"Whereas in those areas like around Echuca, they're very flat floodplains. There aren't high grounds nearby that they could have built on instead," she said.
Minor flooding for low-lying areas
Since August, the SA State Emergency Service has issued a weekly flood advice message for shack areas between Cadell and Mannum, with predicted water levels likely to cause minor flooding.
"A lot of those are holiday accommodations, but there's a handful of permanent residents in there," Ms Bloss said.
Meanwhile, people who live in close proximity to the river, or those who have homes in low-lying areas, could experience some inundation if levels exceed the forecasted flows.
Predictions indicate it could be a month before high flows reach the Coorong lakes, giving local authorities time to prepare for the volume of water coming through the system.
Coorong District Council chief executive Bridget Mather says, while there could be some flooding on properties, it's not expected to reach residences and other structures.
"As far down as Mannum there are some shacks that are very close to the water, but the shacks in the Coorong district area are predominantly up on the cliffs a little higher," she said.
"We don't expect the flooding similar to what you're seeing in Victoria.
"The lakes are very broad, big buckets of water … and it takes a lot to move them up."
