Vic water minister corrects record

Victoria's water minister has had to correct the record on the amount of water being pumped down the Murray River after she got the wrong advice.

Water Minister Lisa Neville told reporters on Thursday more than 400,000 megalitres had been pumped down the Murray to help stop toxic blue-green algae killing aquatic life.

But the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holdings said only 4500 megalitres has been released and it was to help vegetation and river life in Goulburn, not deal with the algae spread through the river.

A spokeswoman for Ms Neville on Friday told AAP the department had given her the wrong advice.

The algal bloom has spread over 500km and forced water to be turned off in some towns, although those towns have since be reconnected.

A spokeswoman for the CEWH said the scale of the algal bloom meant extra water flows would be unlikely to significantly affect the problem.