murray info for adelaide

8/6/2019 Murray INfo for Adelaide

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Iconic Landscapes

Outstanding natural features and a rich diversity of plants and animals are found here. Theunique array of interrelated aquatic environments

The northern area covered in this plan incorporates approximately 650 kmof the River Murray from the South Australian border through to the Lower Lakes (Lakes Alexandrina andAlbert) and Southern Ocean. The area includes the floodplains, wetlands and other habitatswithin approximately 20 km either side of the river. Over a thousand wetlands are associatedwith this stretch of the River Murray.

The southern area includes the many wetlands and interlinking watercourses of the South Eastregion that previously connected to the Coorong. Wetlands represent a significant naturalasset for the South East, although only 6% of the region's wetlands remain.

These wetlands and watercourses provide refuge and habitat for many species recognised assignificant regionally, nationally and internationally.

The River Murray Channel, Lower Lakes and Coorong and the Chowilla floodplain are iconsites under The Living Murray Initiative, managed by the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

A Rich and Diverse Community

Aboriginal people have had an intimate involvement with the land and water in this region for tens of thousands of years, and have played a role in shaping the ecology of the landscape. Itcontinues to have significance to the region's Aboriginal people, who hold strong spiritualaffinity with the landscape. Aboriginal affiliations with the NatureLink are valued.

Today the region supports people from diverse backgrounds in rural communities, townshipsand several major regional centres. Rural settlements dominate the more fertile areas with

permanent water supplies.

Industry and Land Use

The diversity of land uses and businesses that rely on a sustainable natural resource baseinclude irrigated horticulture, cropping, viticulture, dairy farming, livestock production,forestry and fisheries. Various other industries associated with the many townships are relianton water provided primarily by the River Murray and underground aquifers. Tourism is also akey industry.

There are several National Parks and protected areas across the NatureLink, including theCoorong National Park, Murray River National Park, and Ngaut Ngaut Conservation Park. In2005, the State entered into a co-management agreement with the Mannum AboriginalCommunity Association Inc. for Ngaut Ngaut Conservation Park. The management of Ngaut

Ngaut is enhanced by sharing skills and knowledge between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

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There w ill be oppor t ities to deve lop par t ersh i ps and integra te Na t reL ink pr inci ples intothese initiatives to ensure the bes t outcomes a t a landscape leve

W hat is i portant about the Coorong?

The Coorong is eco logica ll and cu ltura ll very impor tan t The Coorong is a un i ueecosys tem and es tuary w ith s igni ican t conserva tion va lue for its biodivers ity. Most signif ican tly, it was dec lared a We tland of In terna tiona l Impor tance in 198 under the R amsar Conven tion.

The Coorong prov ides a mosa ic of hab itats for b irdlife. Th ir ty-three of the e ighty-f ive spec iesof b ird found a t the Coorong are listed under interna tiona l treaties.

The Aus tralian Governmen t, in recogn ising the impor tance of the Coorong for m igra tory birds, has es tablished agreemen ts w ith the Governmen ts of Japan andThe Peop les R epub lic of China to pro tect the hab itats of m igra tory b irds.Add itiona lly, Aus tra lia is a member of the Eas t Asian-Aus tra lasian Shoreb ird R eserve

Ne twork, wh ich seeks to conserve key we tlands such as the Coorong - in the m igra tionrou te f lyway.

Such is the Coorongs impor tance in prov iding va luab le hab itat for m igra tory b irds; somespec ies w ill migra te from as far away as S i ber ia and A laska to the Coorong.

The Coorong a lso prov ides irrep laceab le hab itat for 14 threa tened spec ies of b ird, and animpor tant drough t refuge in the area. I t is a lso suppor ts the wor lds larges t breed ing co lony of Austra lian Pe licans.

The Coorong s tar ts a t the mou th of the Murray River, sou th eas t of Goolwa. I t extends for 14 km a long the coas t in a sou theas ter ly direc tion towards the town of K ingston.

How has the Coorong changed?

Since European se ttlemen t, r iver regu lation w ithin the Murray-Dar ling Basin has caused aquite drama tic change to the Coorong.

Being a t the end of the Murray-Dar ling Basin, the Coorong rece ives, d irec tly or indirec tly, the

impac t of ac tions and dec isions made throughou t the bas in.There are now over 1 regu latory dev ices in the Murray-Dar ling sys tem, including f ive barrages, wh ich separa te sa lt and fresh wa ter c lose to the r iver mou th.

Land c learance, so il salinisation, eros ion and po lluted dra inage into r ivers have changed thewater qua lity of the Murray-Dar ling sys tem.

The abs trac tion of wa ter for irr igation has a ltered the f low reg ime, resu lting in a much-reduced overa ll f low, and d iminished f looding even ts.


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Consequen tly, the r iver sys tem is now a s tead ier one. S imple hab itats have rep laced oncecomp lex ones, resu lting in less hab itat types and thus fewer spec ies.

R educed f lows have resu lted in long per iods of time when no fresh wa ter reaches the Coorongvia the barrages. Th is causes a change in the sa linity levels of the es tuary, depr ives it of

nutr ients and a llows sand to accumu late inside the r iver mou th.

Consequen tly, many es tuar ine spec ies, (spec ies found a t the Murray Mouth) wh ich re lied onvar iab le, brack ish cond itions, are be ing rep laced w ith mar ine spec ies.

The Lower Lakes cons titute the larges t freshwa ter body in Sou th Aus tra lia. They prov ide permanen t and ephemera l, h ighly produc tive we tland ecosys tems and h ighly impor tan t hab itat.

The Lower Lakes are fr inged w ith tall weeds wh ich prov ide unbroken hab itat which fu lf ils acr itical role in a llowing b irds safe movemen t, reduc ing the r isk posed by preda tors.Add itiona lly, the Lower Lakes are used to store wa ter for irr igation and some town wa ter.

The Lower Lakes reg ion is grow ing as a tour ist destination and this is ref lected by the, a t times, heavy use for recrea tiona l pursu its, such as boa ting ac tivities and f ishing.

The Lower Lakes are used for irr igation and ex tensive recrea tion these days. However, in themid-late 18 s and ear ly 19 s the River and Lower Lakes formed an impor tan t par t of thecommerc ial River transpor t system.

The town of Goolwa, loca ted on the nor th-wes tern s ide of Lake A lexandr ina a t the end of theRiver sys tem, was an impor tan t r iver trade por t.

W hy dont they stop the evaporat ion from the Lower L akes so we have more water?

Unfor tuna tely, there is nowhere to store the wa ter, therefore sav ings can t be made.

W hy does the Murray Mouth closed?

Sand accumu lation in the area of the mou th has been more preva lent since the cons truction of the barrages in the 194 s. Th is essen tially reduced the tida l pr ism by reduc ing the area of water that would have once been open to tidal inf luence. The tidal pr ism descr i bes the ba lance

between the incom ing and ou tgoing tides.

The incom ing tides in the Mouth reg ion are s ignif ican tly stronger than the ou tgoing tidesresu lting in a ne t accumu lation of sand.


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Add itiona l factors inf luenc ing the increased depos ition in the area include fur ther ups treamdeve lopmen t which occurred par ticular ly throughou t the 198 s, coup led w ith preva iling longterm dry wea ther cond itions wh ich appear to have had an effec t on f lows to Sou th Aus tralia.

The reduced f lows have a lso reduced the capac ity of the Mouth to be c leared. T ida l actionalone is no t enough to ma intain an un-conges ted mou th.

Subsequen tly, the accumu lation of sand a t the mou th has become a s ignif ican t ongo ing prob lem over the last 20 years.

W hy dont they just d ig out the sand in the Murray Mouth to open it w ider?

Eas ier sa id than done. Firstly, a s ignif ican t sized dredge wou ld be requ ired for such a largesca le opera tion and there are many issues regard ing the transpor t of such equ i pmen t into thearea g iven its sha llow na ture and s trong surf among o ther cond itions.

Second ly, cos t is a s ignif ican t factor and has proven somewha t proh i bitive for the time be ing.R ough es timates sugges ted are upwards of 10million do llars. In the mean time, if the mou thcan be modera tely ma intained in the inter im awa iting a change in the long term wea ther

pattern for we tter cond itions, na ture w ill improve the s ituation a t the mou th far be tter than we poss i bly cou ld.

In the mean time, the bes t strategy for the mou th is to keep c lose wa tch to ensure that the loca l ecosys tem is not under ser ious threa t when d iff icult cond itions are preva lent. Managemen t actions are engaged as precau tions and when necessary.

W hat are the barrages?

The barrages form a barr ier be tween the fresh wa ters ma intained in the Lower Lakes and thehyper-sa line env ironmen t of the Coorong es tuary and the Sou thern ocean.

Essen tially, the barrages are like dams or we irs in that water can be man i pulated from them.Although the barrages d iffer from dams or we irs because the barrages ex tend over a muchgrea ter d istance and no t to any grea t depth.

There are f ive barrages ( Goolwa, Boundary Creek, Mundoo, Ewe Is land and Tauw itchere)each of d iffer ing lengths. However, comb ined they cover a length of a lmos t 8 kms.

W hat is Ramsar?


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R amsar is the name of a town in Iran. De lega tes from 18 coun tr ies and observers from anumber of o ther coun tr ies me t in R amsar because of concerns a t the wor ldwide loss of waterb irds and their we tland hab itats. The resu lt was the f irst interna tiona l natureconserva tion trea ty.

This was ca lled the Conven tion on We tlands of In terna tiona l Impor tance Espec ially as

Wa terfow l Hab itat. Th is is common ly known as the R amsar Conven tion.

Austra lia was the f irst signatory to the Conven tion in December 197 .Each s igna tory coun try of wh ich there are now 123 is ob ligated to des ignate at least onewetland for inclusion in The L ist of We tlands of In terna tiona l Impor tance.

The Coorong, pursuan t to Aus tralias obligations under the R amsar Conven tion, is sub ject to amanagemen t plan wh ich prov ides a framework for its conserva tion and w ise use.

W hat is the Ramsar Convent ion?

The Conven tion on We tlands, s igned in R amsar, Iran, in 1971 , is an intergovernmen tal treatywhich prov ides the framework for na tiona l action and interna tiona l coopera tion for theconserva tion and w ise use of we tlands and their resources.

The R amsar Conven tion covers a ll aspec ts of we tland conserva tion and w ise use, recogn isingwetlands as ecosys tems that are ex treme ly impor tan t for b iodivers ity conserva tion and thewell-be ing of human commun ities, as we ll as wa terb ird hab itats.

Austra lia was the f irst signatory to the Conven tion in 197 .There are presen tly 123 Contrac ting Par ties to the Conven tion, w ith 1050 we tland s ites,totalling 78 .7 million hec tares, des igna ted for inclusion in the R amsar L ist of We tlands of Interna tiona l Impor tance.

W hat sorts of b irds use the Coorong?

Eighty-f ive spec ies of b ird have been recorded a t the Coorong. Add itiona lly, the reg ion is

regarded as a ma jor s ite in Sou th Aus tra lia for more than 30 spec ies of wa terb irds.

The reg ion is impor tan t for m igra tory waders, pr inci pa lly R ed-necked S tints, Sharp- tailedSandp i pers and Cur lew Sandp i pers. The Coorong is an impor tan t hab itat on their m igra toryf lyway be tween Aus tra lia and their nor thern breed ing grounds. These spec ies, among o ther waders, are a lso pro tected under the Japanese-Aus tralia Migratory Bird Agreemen t (JAMB A)and the China-Aus tralia Migra tory Bird Agreemen t (CAMB A).R esiden t waders such as s tilt s,avoce ts, p lovers, lapw ings and oys terca tchers are presen t at the Coorong. There are manyspec ies of duck that use the Coorong.


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Other b irds in the area include Ducks, Black Swans, Pe licans, Ib is, the rare Fairy Tern and theendangered L ittle Tern. A t times, the numbers of Grey Tea l can be in excess of 50 000.Austra lian She lducks a lso occur in large numbers. In drough t years, up to severa l hundredthousand ducks use the Coorong.

There are a lso abou t 2000 Cape Barren Geese dur ing the summer mon ths. Pe licans, i bis andswans a ll use the Coorong to breed.

How salty is the Coorong? W ill th is affect the b irds and f ish?

The sa linity levels of the Coorong vary be tween d ifferen t areas and w ithin d ifferen t seasons.

On average, the Sou thern Lagoon of the Coorong is near ly twice as sa line as the Nor thernLagoon.

Coorong hab itats range from seasona lly fresh near the barrages when large quan tities of wa ter are be ing re leased, to brack ish in the Murray Mouth area, grad ing to hypersa line in theSou thern Lagoon. The sa linity level of the Sou thern Lagoon is 140 par ts per thousand (pp t),the Nor thern Lagoon is 80ppt far grea ter than Sou th Aus tra lia seawa ter wh ich is on ly 35ppt.

Most spec ies of b irds and f ish have a def inite range of sa linity in wh ich they can surv ive. Thef luctuations in the sa linity levels of the Coorong favours some spec ies, wh ilst disadvan tag ingothers.

Some es tuar ine spec ies of b irds and f ish that rely on the h igh produc tivity of a var iab le,mos tly brack ish wa ter ecosys tem are rep laced by mar ine spec ies, wh ich can tolerate h igher salinity levels. The lower produc tivity of h igher sa linity levels suppor ts fewer numbers of waders and o ther es tuar ine wa ter b irds, wh ich mus t either f ind resources e lsewhere or d ie out.

W hat is be ing done?

A number of pro jects are curren tly underway for the Murray Mouth, Lower Lakes and

Coorong reg ion and of these pro jects some are ac ting on recommenda tions of pas t repor ts for the f irst time.

The reason for this is that much of the techno logy requ ired to pursue these endeavors has no t been ava ilable or soph isticated enough to justify their pursu it. However, this has beenchang ing rap idly in recen t years. Hopefu lly, in the no t too d istan t future we w ill have a far

better unders tand ing of this dynam ic reg ion and how to manage it.

Governmen t of Sou th Aus tra lia


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The Governmen t of Sou th Aus tra lia re leased the Coorong, and Lakes A lexandr ina and A l ber t R amsar Managemen t Plan. The v ision con tained in the plan is to enab le the con tinued w iseuse of the area.

The v ision is to:

- Conserve the env ironmen tal and eco logica l attr i butes- Use the na tura l resources in a sus tainab le manner - Pro tect and res tore na tura l hab itats- R estore v iable popu lations of v iab le spec ies- Increase commun ity comm itmen t and awareness, including the Ngarr ind jer i peop le

- Improve wa ter qua lity and increase f lows through the we tlands- Fulf il Austra lias obligations under the R amsar Conven tion and o ther

interna tiona l agreemen ts

A Task Force w ill be es tab lished to dr ive the implemen tation of the P lan. As par t of theimplemen tation, the Coorong Na tiona l Park is be ing ex tended to include the wa ters of thenor thern Coorong and es tuary up to the Goolwa barrages.There are many groups ac tively improv ing the Coorong and Lower Lakes we tlands, includingthe Goolwa to We llington LAP, Landcare groups, commun ity groups, indigenous groups, andloca l governmen t.

W hat is water trad ing?

Just like you can buy and se ll a home, you can buy and se ll water.However in some ca tchmen ts such as the Murray Dar ling Basin, on ly ex isting wa ter r ightscan be bough t and so ld in an effor t to conserve our rema ining wa ter resource.

In o ther words, the sa le of new wa ter is no longer poss i ble. Th is cou ld be likened to bu ilding anew home. If no land was ava ilab le, you wou ld have no where to bu ild and thus wou ld haveto buy an es tab lished home. I t is this concep t of buy ing new wa ter that is no longer perm itted.

How is R iver Murray water traded?

Some wa ter trad ing is instigated by word of mou th between irr igators bu t others irr igatorsreg ister an interes t with a wa ter broker that they wou ld like to se ll.

Potential buyers are iden tif ied and then the wa ter broker can se t up the necessary transfer.The trade of River Murray wa ter is slightly d ifferen t for each S tate. However, if the trade isacross S tate borders the Murray-Dar ling Bas in Comm ission mus t be no tif ied and cer tain

prerequ isites mus t be me t in the S tate of or igin and S tate of rece i pt before respec tive S tateapprova ls and approva l from the Murray-Dar ling Basin Comm ission is gran ted.

This approva l process is necessary as wa ter trade can have an inf luence on env ironmen tal cond itions for the River if too much wa ter is taken ou t of the sys tem in the upper reaches.


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If wa ter is a llowed to trave l through the grea ter leng th of the r iver, this enab les themax imisation of env ironmen tal benef its.

How much does R iver Murray water cost?

All licenses in SA are for h igh secur ity wa ter.

However, in the ups tream S tates there is a m ixture of h igh and genera l secur ity licenses. Asthe genera l secur ity wa ter has a h igher r isk that the total licensed a lloca tion may no t beava ilab le every year, these licenses may be bough t and so ld at a much lower and var iab le

pr ice in compar ison w ith the high secur ity licenses.

W hat are wetlands?

A we tland is def ined as land that is inunda ted w ith sha llow, s low mov ing or s tationary wa ter,on a temporary or permanen t bas is, that may be fresh, brack ish or sa line

The comp lexity and range of we tlands makes them d iff icult to def ine. A we tland is exac tlywha t the name sugges ts: we t land. We tlands typica lly con tain sha llow wa ter, bu t they may no t always be we t. However, they are areas that are we t for long per iods, so that plan ts andan imals living in them are adap ted to, and of ten dependan t on, living in we t cond itions for a t leas t par t of their life cyc le.

The per iod of inunda tion de term ines the type and produc tivity of the so ils, as we ll as p lant and an imal commun ities

We tlands are areas such as swamps, lakes, bogs and b illabongs, wh ich are permanen tly or temporar ily covered by wa ter. They line the Rivers of the Murray-Dar ling Basin. Theysepara te land env ironmen ts from wa ter env ironmen ts. They have fea tures of bo th land andwater ecosys tems.

Different names for wetlands

Billabong

W hy are wetlands important?There are many benef its der ived from we tlands, for examp le they:


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- pur ify wa ter and prov ide pro tection from f loods by absorb ing and s lowlyreleas ing wa ter;

- are the breed ing grounds for many an imals;- are the hab itat for many aqua tic spec ies, some rare and endangered;- are r ich in cu ltura l her itage, bo th Abor igina l and European;- suppor t wildlife that can a id in the con trol of pes ts on farms;

prov ide recrea tiona l places for many peop le.

W hy are wetlands threatened?

Desp ite a grow ing unders tand ing of we tland va lues and func tions they rema in one of our mos t threa tened resources.

We tlands are one of the mos t degraded hab itats in the wor ld. In Aus tra lia it is es timated that 50% of we tlands have been lost since in 1788 (Commonwea lth Governmen t, 1997 ).

We tlands have long been regarded as "was telands" and breed ing grounds for d isease vec torssuch as mosqu itoes.

Until recen tly, many we tlands have been severe ly degraded, ma inly through dra inage,inunda tion, vege tation c learance, gra zing and agr iculture prac tises, and their use as a dump ingground for rubb ish and eff luen t.

Many of these ac tivities occurred in the absence of a c lear unders tand ing of the va lues of wetlands.

How many wetlands are in MDB?

The Murray-Dar ling Basin suppor ts over 30,000 we tlands. Ten of these are of interna tiona l signif icance and listed as R amsar We tlands.

W hy do you need to wet and dry wetlands?

Dur ing their cyc les of we tting and dry ing, they perform a var iety of impor tant func tions.

Dry we tlands absorb large vo lumes of wa ter dur ing f lood per iods s lowing the ra te at whichthe r iver r ises, m itigating the impac t of f loods. A lso re tain wa ter for long per iods af ter f loods,therefore prov iding back-up sources of wa ter for w ildlife and s tock.

When we t, f loodp lains suppor t a huge range of p lan ts and an imals by prov iding an abundance


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of food. S ilt, the decay ing ma tter of an imal and vege tab le ma tter crea te r ich so ils mak ingthem a va luab le resource for gra zing by s tock.

W hat can I do?

Join a group assoc iated w ith f ield work and mon itor ing of we tlands a long the River Murray.

The Aus tralian Conserva tion Founda tion has pu t out the ca ll for a ll Sou th Aus tra lian federa l politicians from a ll par ties to sign a p ledge indicating their suppor t for a Murray-Dar lingBasin Plan that returns enough wa ter to the r iver to res tore its hea lth.

The p ledge s tates that for too long, too much wa ter has been taken ou t of the Murray- Dar lingand on ly strong leadersh i p can re turn enough wa ter to rev ive the r iver sys tem.

Who signed on?

T o date the follow ing South Austral ian pol it icians (all from the Austral ian L abor Partyand Austral ian Greens) have s igned the pledge:

Tony Zapp ia Don Farre ll

Mark Butler Dana Wor tley

Sarah Hanson-Young Amanda Rishwor th

Steve Georganas Penny Wong

Kate Ellis N ick Champ ion

South Austral ias Coal it ion MPs have not s igned the pledge. T hey prov ided ACF w iththe follow ing statement:

SA L i bera l MPs and Sena tors, a long w ith all Coa lition members, be lievethe f inite wa ter resources of the Murray Dar ling Basin have been over-alloca ted and m ismanaged, caus ing harm to the hea lth of the overa ll system, including the Coorong and Lower Lakes.

The Coalition star ted the reform process to deliver sus tainab le na tiona l managemen t of these wa ter resources, in a way that balances and op timisesenvironmen tal, econom ic and soc ial outcomes. We legislated for it and we

budge ted $10 billion for it. Having star ted this process, we are comm itted


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to see ing it through.

11 January 20 11

Wh ile the ma jor ity of urban Aus tra lians ge t back to work af ter a re juvena ting ho liday, manyQueens landers are trying to escape r ising f loodwa ters.

The soc ial and econom ic impac t of these f loods w ill be fe lt for some time. A CF extends itssincere condo lences to the fam ilies and fr iends of those who have d ied.

The f loods in the Murray-Dar ling Basin have affec ted lives, livelihoods, crops and s tock. I t isalso true they w ill br ing much needed wa ter and re juvena ted pas tures to many par ts of theMurray-Dar ling Bas in.

All this wa ter may lead some to assume that the env ironmen tal prob lems in the Murray-Dar ling Basin have been so lved, bu t this is far from the truth.

Wh ile the ra in has brough t temporary re lief to many of the Basins long-suffer ing we tlands,nothing can surv ive on one decen t dr ink every 20 years.

Poor wa ter managemen t and over-ex trac tion w ill con tinue to cause the dec line of the Basinsr ivers and we tlands and leave commun ities in the same s tate of uncer tainty abou t the v iabilityof their towns and fu ture job oppor tunities.

Urgen t nationa l reform and a na tiona l plan for the sus tainab le managemen t of the Murray-Dar ling through the Basin Plan are s till needed.

Sena tor Barnaby Joyces ca ll for more dams is based on a v iew that concre te and p i pes canmiracu lous ly stop f loods and enab le irr igators to con tinue tak ing ou t unsus tainab le vo lumes of water from the Murray-Dar ling.

It simply wont work and ra ises ser ious env ironmen tal, soc ial and econom ic concerns.

Dams drown good farm land and fores ts, choke r ivers and s top f ish and tur tles m igra ting and breed ing, con tr i bute to greenhouse po llution and s top wa ter ge tting to we tlands andf loodp lains.

They cause fur ther damage to the a lready s trugg ling env ironmen t of the Murray-Dar ling.

The Murray-Dar ling is Aus tra lias mos t regu lated r iver-sys tem. I t already con tains manydams. Some of these dams have proven to be expens ive m istakes and are curren tly be ing

pulled down.

Lets not forge t the pr imary cause of the env ironmen tal degrada tion of Aus tralias larges t r iver-sys tem is over-ex trac tion of wa ter for irr igation.

In less than a cen tury, wa ter ex trac tion from the r ivers of the Murray-Dar ling Basin hasincreased by 500 per cen t.


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Ninety per cen t of the Basins f loodp lain we tlands have been des troyed. E ighty-s ix percen t of the Basins r iver va lleys are in poor or very poor cond ition.

We tlands prov ide life-suppor ting serv ices that keep the r iver hea lthy and prov ide a range of benef its to soc iety.

A recen t study found hea lthy we tlands prov ide econom ic benef its to commun ities andindus try in the Murray-Dar ling Basin wor th around $2. 1 billion a year.

In 200 7 all sides of po litics agreed that there was an urgen t need to change the way wa ter ismanaged in the Murray-Dar ling. The Wa ter Ac t was passed through Par liamen t with thesuppor t of bo th ma jor par ties. The Ac t called for the independen t Murray-Dar ling BasinAuthor ity (MDBA) to produce a p lan that would re turn wa ter from overused r ivers toenv ironmen tally sus tainab le levels of ex trac tion.

If we had learn t from our pas t mistakes of over-a lloca ting wa ter to irr igators dur ing we t wea ther spe lls we wou ld know that relying on dams is a rec i pe for increased econom ic andsoc ial uncer tainty dur ing dry per iods.

Cli mate change is con tr i buting to the dry ing ou t of sou th-eas tern Aus tra lia. In a dr ier c limateany new dams w ill f ill with ho t air fas ter than wa ter.

Wh ile f loods can br ing pa in and suffer ing, they can br ing benef its too.

There are farmers and gra ziers who do we ll when r ivers na turally f lood, re juvena ting so ils and br inging the f loodp lains back to life. I t can be good for the env ironmen t and for reg iona l commun ities and econom ies.

A coup le of p i pes and dams won t make f loods go away. Le ts not get carr ied away w ithfan tasies of large ye llow trucks, p i pes and hardha ts.

Healthy r ivers suppor t commun ities, agr iculture and tour ism for the longterm.

The Murray-Dar ling Basin Plan has the po tential to rev ive our r ivers by address ing the roo t cause of the Basins prob lems the overuse of wa ter that would be good for the economyand the env ironmen t.

The year 200 7 was a huge turn ing po int for the Murray-Dar ling Basin.

It was then that all sides of po litics, in all Murray-Dar ling Basin states, as we ll as the federa l

governmen t, agreed that there was an urgen t need to change the way wa ter is managed in theMurray-Dar ling.

The Commonwealth Water Act 2007 was passed through Par liamen t with the suppor t of bo thma jor par ties.

T he Act called for the independent Murray-Darl ing Bas in Author ity (MDBA) toproduce a plan that would return water from overused r ivers to env ironmentallysusta inable levels of extract ion.


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W hen it can somet imes feel imposs ible for our leaders to come together, thats a prettystrong consensus.

The Murray-Dar ling is one of Aus tra lias ma jor life suppor t systems. Sad ly, overuse of itswater for decades has ser ious ly damaged the sys tem. In less than a cen tury, wa ter ex trac tion

from the r ivers that make up the Murray-Dar ling Basin has increased by 500%.

The f loods in Queens land and w idespread ra infa ll in the Murray-Dar ling Bas in have pu t a lot of wa ter back wh ich w ill rep lenish the f loodp lain we tlands in the shor t term.

But Austra lia is a con tinen t of drough ts and f loods, and a cr isis crea ted by the chron ic over-use of wa ter can on ly be f ixed by implemen ting a s trong p lan wh ich permanen tly res tores the

ba lance be tween the env ironmen t and irr igation.

With the re lease of the gu ide to the proposed Murray-Dar ling Basin Plan, were on the cusp of restor ing this grea t icon back to hea lth.

The Guide is the f irst cab off the rank in a process that will end w ith Tony Burke, the Minister for Wa ter, approv ing the f inal Murray-Dar ling Bas in Plan in ear ly 2011 .

Tak e act ion now for a he alt hy Murr a y-D a r ling B a sin The Guide, re leased in Oc tober last year by the Au thor ity makes it clear that we need to stopoverus ing wa ter for irr igation, and pu t more wa ter back into the r iver.

It states that return ing 3,000 b illion litres of wa ter w ill give us a low cer tainty of ach ieving ahea lthy r iver, wh ile return ing 7,600 b illion litres w ill give us a h igh cer tainty.

A hea lthy r iver needs more wa ter, bu t the same ru le doesn t always app ly for agr iculture; lesswater for irr igation doesn t always equa te to less produc tion.

Between 200 1 and 200 7 dry cond itions mean t irr igation indus tr ies used abou t 70% less wa ter,and the econom ic va lue of irr igation produc tion fe ll by on ly 0.12%.

T he Federal Government has comm itted around $9 b illion to return water to theMurray-Darl ing and help irr igators use water w isely.

W e have a once- in-a-l ifet ime opportun ity to establ ish strong, sound econom ic andenv ironmental management of our r ivers.

R eturn ing wa ter to the r iver sys tem w ill enab le the Murray mou th to rema in open in a ll but dr iest years, and for it to func tion as a hea lthy r iver.

Increased f lows w ill keep the Coorong in Sou th Aus tra lia a live. They ll increase f ish s tocksand b ird numbers.

Theyll reconnec t the r iver to its f loodp lain b illabongs. Given around 90% of the Murray-Dar lings f loodp lain we tlands have been des troyed, pro tection of those that rema in is v ital.


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These b illabongs keep the r iver hea lthy by c lean ing up the wa ter a t a ra te comparab le w ith asewage trea tmen t plan t.

And, a healthy r iver w ill support strong commun it ies, agr iculture and tour ism in thelong-term.

T he state of the Murray-Darl ing is a complex issue. Env ironmental, soc ial, commun ityand pol it ical issues intersect around its management and future.

But they all connect to one central po int the r iver needs more water.

The devas tating f loods in Queens land are be ing used by some as an excuse to ca ll for de laysto Murray-Dar ling reform. These f loods are a rem inder of wha t climate sc ience has beentelling us for 25 years. As we ll as a genera l warm ing and increas ing sea levels, it pred ictedmore frequen t extreme even ts: f loods, drough ts, hea twaves and severe bushf ires.

The f lood wa ters w ill, in time, subs ide. We s till urgen tly need to se t fair bu t strong ru les toreduce the overuse of wa ter in the Murray-Dar ling, and he l p commun ities make the changesour coun try needs.

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