management policies for the murray- darling basin
TRANSCRIPT
Management policies for the Murray-Darling Basin
Key Knowledge and Skills
•Current management policies and strategies to implement these policies
• The effectiveness of water-management policies and strategies in terms of current use and future sustainability
Administratively Complex
• Ensuring equitable access for all is difficult• The basins scale • variable climate and inflows•Many potential users•Many managing the resource•Governments•Organisations
Shared: 4 States 1 Territory
•Victoria•South Australia•NSW•Queensland•ACT
Murray Darling Basin Agreement
•Water is shared between Victoria, NSW and SA under this agreement
• Concerns about equitable access (irrigators, domestic supply)
• Recently greater recognition for policies which promote more efficient water use and the rivers environmental quality
Managing Water Use
•Policies have evolved over time to manage the Basins water
•Changing Social, economic, environmental and political factors have influenced the development of these policies
Policies designed to manage the MDB
1915River Murray
waters agreement
1917Murray River Commission
1992Murray
Darling Basin Agreement
1995The Cap
2003The living Murray
Initiative
2004The National
Water Incentive
2007National plan for water
Security
2008Murray
Darling Basin Authority
See page 68 of your text for a detailed description
Water Storage
• One of the major policies in the basin is to provide reliable water supplies especially during dry periods.• The total capacity for storage in the basin is 22
611 GL
• During the drought storages held only 4840 GL (21%)• Following good rains in 2011 they were 83%
Government Irrigation Storages
Major water storages
•Dartmouth Dam (on the Mitta Mitta)•Hume dam (the largest storage on the
river)• Lake Victoria (agreed minimum flows
to SA)•Menindee lakes (on the Darling River)
The Living Murray initiative
1. Barmah-Millewa Forest2. Gunbower and Koondrook-Perricoota
forests3. Hattah Lakes4. Chowilla Floodplain5. Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth6. Murray-River Channel
The Living Murray sites