Australian Water Management Review Vol 1 2010 | Page 17

17 The Mitta Mitta River where it flows into the drought affected Hume Dam. MDBA photo by Arthur Mostead of the Basin’s 23 river valleys were in poor or very poor health. A report for The Living Murray program found that 70% of river red gums in the Koondrook–Perricoota Forest (the second largest river red gum forest in the world) were stressed, dying or dead, largely due to the drought, combined with 12 years of no flooding. Salinity levels have increased and algal blooms have increased in frequency in line with the increased frequency of periods of low river flow. In 2007 the CSIRO’s first inventory of sustainable yields of all surface and groundwater systems within the Basin revealed that consumptive water use in the Basin had reduced the average annual stream flow at the Murray mouth by 61% and that water failed to reach the river mouth 40% of the time, compared to 1% prior to regulation of the river. CSIRO concluded that without changes to the water sharing arrangements in the Basin, climate change would likely lead to irreversible ecological degradation. Planning for a future with less water? A proposed Basin Plan will be released in mid 2010 to allow for extensive consultation with stakeholders. The first Basin Plan will be completed in 2011 and approved by the Minister for Climate Change and Water, after which it will be regularly reviewed and updated. Dust storm at Meringur in Victoria. Climate changes is bringing more extreme weather events. MDBA photo by Arthur Mostead Basin states and the ACT will be consulted in the preparation of the Basin Plan including through the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council and the Basin Officials Committee. To ensure a smooth transition for water users the Basin Plan will honour existing water plans for the life of those plans. The South Australian, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Queensland plans expire in 2014 and Victoria’s in 2019. The states and the ACT will continue to determine how water is allocated and used in their own jurisdictions through the development of water resource plans, but these must be consistent with the Basin Plan. The Australian Government has also funded a ten year plan Water for the Future, managed by the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, to secure water supplies to assist agriculture to adapt to changed weather patterns, as well as to improve river health. An important component of this program is buying back water from willing sellers and using it to meet core environmental needs. The program also includes funding infrastructure towards more efficient irrigation to help reduce the amount of water that is lost each year through leakage and evaporation. In the long term these new arrangements and the Basin Plan aim to address the historic over-allocation of the river systems and secure the future of the Basin, and of the many communities which rely on it for social, cultural and economic survival. For further information or to find out how to comment on the proposed Basin Plan contact [email protected] or phone our free number 1800 230 067. Further reading CSIRO sustainable yields report – www.csiro.au/partnerships/MDBSY Murray–Darling Basin Authority factsheets - www.mdba.gov.au/ services/publications Socio-economic context for the Murray–Darling Basin (ABS, ABARE and BRS) http://www.mdba.gov. au/services/publications/moreinformation?publicationid=37 Murray–Darling Basin Authority stakeholder engagement strategy - www.mdba.gov.au/ services/publications/moreinformation?publicationid=35 Sustainable diversion limits issues paper - www.mdba.gov.au/ services/publications/moreinformation?publicationid=36 Sustainable rivers audit - www2. mdbc.gov.au/SRA/