 MDBA Basin News e-Letter, Issue 5, June 2010
Basin News – The Murray-Darling Basin Authority eLetter Welcome to the Murray–Darling Basin Authority monthly eLetter with reports of happenings across the Basin. Please feel free to pass this eLetter along to anybody who might be interested. If you do not wish to continue receiving this eLetter please reply to this message with “Unsubscribe” in the subject heading. To subscribe online go to www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/mdba_eLetter/subscribe Contributions are welcome. Please send items of up to 300 words to the editor at medialiason@mdba.gov.au Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MD_Basin_Auth An online html version is available at: www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/mdba_eletter
Murray inflows still well below average The latest Murray-Darling Weekly Report of river operations says that for the first nine days of June, Murray system inflows (excluding Snowy releases and Menindee inflows) averaged just 7 GL a day compared with a June long term average of about 23 GL a day. Storage in Menindee Lakes increased to 85 per cent capacity and is expected to reach about 87 per cent (1500 GL) by the end of June. Releases from Menindee are being held at the normal winter minimum of 200 megalitres a day. The winter level in Lake Alexandrina in South Australia is more than half a metre higher that at the end of January. The level in both lower lakes is expected t continue to gradually increase over the winter months. For more information and to read the latest Weekly report of river operations go to www.mdba.gov.au/water/river_info More opportunities to hear about the proposed Basin Plan They will provide updates on the developing Basin Plan and information on how to comment on the draft Basin Plan when it is released. The Sessions will be held at The Crossing Theatre, Narrabri on 16 June; the Toowoomba Motel and Events Centre, Toowoomba on 17 June; and the Dubbo RSL Club resort, Dubbo on 18 June. Meetings start at 2.00 pm and finish at 5.30 pm. The meetings are part of an ongoing series with sessions recently completed at many regional centres throughout the Basin. For more information on the Authority’s Basin Plan engagement process go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/engagement or email engagement@mdba.gov.au New information on Murray-Darling Basin Authority website More than 200 people from across the Basin attended the forum for an update on the Basin planning process. The summary of the forum can now be found at www.mdba.gov.au/communities/meetings-events/april-forum. The following three new fact sheets have been added to the Authority website:
They can be found at http://www.mdba.gov.au/services/publications and search for fact sheets. Another addition to the site is a page of replies to some frequently asked questions on economic and social profiles and impact assessments in the Murray–Darling Basin. They can be found here: www.mdba.gov.au/basin_plan/faqs. For more information visit www.mdba.gov.au information or email engagement@mdba.gov.au or 1800 230 067 (free). Basin Community Committee updated on Basin plan The committee advises the Murray-Darling Basin Authority about the performance of its functions, including in relation to:
At its latest Canberra meeting committee members were updated on the developing Basin Plan. They were also briefed on Basin Indigenous matters, on water planning experiences in South Australia and the ACT and on the socio-economic issues. A meeting summary will be published on the MDBA website soon. For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/communities/basin_community_committee or email bcc@mdba.gov.au Coal seam water conference to hear of Basin water quality and salinity An Authority representative will talk on how a water quality and salinity plan will fit into the overall plan the Authority is preparing to sustainably manage the Basin’s water resources into the future. The Basin Plan will provide a framework for setting environmentally sustainable limits (known as sustainable diversion limits) on the amount of surface water and groundwater that can be taken from the Basin. These limits will be set based on the best available scientific knowledge and socio–economic analysis and cultural information. The Basin Plan will identify, and seek to protect and restore, key environmental assets which are essential to the life of the rivers, their surrounding landscapes and the cultural values of the communities which depend on those water resources. It will also take into account the impact of this protection and restoration on individual communities, industries, regions and the wider economy. The Water Quality and Salinity Plan is vital part of the overall Basin Plan and will aim to improve water quality and reduce salinity impacts across the Basin. It will identify the main causes of poor water quality in the Basin and it will set water quality and salinity objectives and targets for Basin water resources. A draft of the Basin Plan will be released this year for public discussion and consultation. The final version will be submitted to the Commonwealth minister in 2011. For more information on the developing Basin Plan go to www.mdba.gov.au/basin_plan Irrigation in a water-stressed world: adapting to a new normal The session explored topics such as system harmonisation - irrigation within a catchment context; and what happens when the environment becomes our biggest customer? Speakers included: Dr Sandra Postel, Director Global Water Policy Project and National Geographic Society's first Freshwater Fellow, Dr Keith Bristow, CRC for Irrigation Futures & CSIRO and George Warne, NSW State Water Corporation. The conference attracted around 500 people and more than 3,500 visit its associated Australian Irrigation Exhibition. The conference and exhibition brought together irrigators, suppliers, equipment manufacturers, researchers, water supply organisations, consultants, advisors, government officials and policy people across the rural and urban industries. This year’s theme One Water Many Futures explored the future of irrigation and its role in food, fibre and lifestyles as the Australian irrigation industry undergoes policy and practice transformation. For more information go to http://www.irrigationaustralia.com.au/ Need a Murray-Darling Basin photo? The collection, which is viewable online, has about 13,500 images. Images reflect the key functions of the Authority including preparation of the Basin Plan, gathering information and undertaking research and engaging the community in the management of the basin's resources. While images are extensively used in MDBA products, they are also available to external stakeholders within Australia an d overseas. For more information and to access the online collection go to http://images.mdba.gov.au/ Work begins to restore better health to Mulcra Island Located half way between Mildura and Renmark on the Murray River, Mulcra Island provides vital habitat for rare and threatened species such as the regent parrot, the growling grass frog and the red-naped snake. The project is part of a program of works under the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s The Living Murray initiative at each of the icon sites to ensure that available environmental water is used efficiently and ecological benefits are maximised. The Living Murray is implemented in the local region by the Mallee Catchment Management Authority (CMA), on behalf of the Department of Sustainability and Environment and in partnership with Parks Victoria. Construction works are being managed by SA Water. The island is rich in Indigenous heritage and is also a much-loved camping and fishing destination for many people. Construction has begun on five environmental regulators that will enable the flooding of up to 800 hectares of drought-stressed floodplain. Subject to water availability, the regulators will be used in tandem with a variation of Lock 8 levels to reinstate a more natural frequency of flows down the Potterwalkagee Creek, which is the anabranch of the Murray River that forms Mulcra Island. You can view the Mulcra Island Google Tour on the Mallee CMA website at: www.malleecma.vic.gov.au/about-us/programs/rivers-and-wetlands/mulcra-island-tour For more information go to http://www.malleecma.vic.gov.au/about-us/programs/rivers-and-wetlands/mulcra.html A clearer picture of Australia’s water resources Developed jointly by CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Bureau’s Water Division, the Water Data Transfer Format (WDTF) provides the Bureau with the means to more efficiently collect and process the 6 million data files of water resource information supplied by more than 200 organisations over the past 12 months. For more information go to www.csiro.au/news/Water-Data-Transfer-Format.html For live data on Murray sytem water resources and storages go to www.mdba.gov.au |
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