Management policies for the Murray- Darling Basin

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