- Contents
- Chapter One Developing the Basin Plan
- Chapter Two Protecting and enhancing
water resources - Chapter Three Delivering water efficiently
and equitably - Chapter Four Using best-practice
financial, management and
governance systems - Financial statements
- Appendixes
- Murray-Darling Basin Commission:
final report - Glossary and Index
Highlights for 2008–09
- A single agency — the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) — now responsible for planning the integrated management of water resources across the whole Murray–Darling Basin.
- The first-ever Basin Plan being developed to manage Basin water resources.
- Significant milestones passed in developing the Basin Plan — in integrating water resource management, compiling and analysing information, and in engaging with stakeholders.
- Major achievements in this record drought: operation of the River Murray system to keep the river running, and delivery of essential water in a fair and efficient way.
- A record volume of interstate water allocation transfers processed, mostly for use in permanent horticulture.
- Close cooperation fostered with the Basin states to protect and enhance shared environmental assets and water resources.
- Effective salinity management achieved, with salt interception schemes diverting around 450,000 tonnes of salt away from the river system this year.
- Five years of data collection across the Basin completed through the Sustainable Rivers Audit, and data made publicly available.
- The Living Murray, one of Australia’s most significant river restoration programs, on track to meet its target of recovering an average of 500 GL of environmental water a year.
- The Sea to Hume fishway program on track to open up 2,100 km of the River Murray to free passage by native fish by August 2009.
- A second phase of the South Eastern Australian Climate Initiative (SEACI 2) begun, after the first phase developed further understanding of climate change impacts in the Basin.