 MDBA Basin News e-Letter, Issue 6, July 2009
Basin News – The Murray-Darling Basin Authority eLetter No. 6, July 2009 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 An online html version is available at: www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/mdba_eletter In this issue:
First regional Authority meetings held in Mildura and Wentworth The new Murray-Darling Basin Authority held its first regional meeting in Mildura and Wentworth on 6 and 7 July. Chair Mike Taylor said the meeting at the confluence of Australia’s two great rivers was “a powerful symbol of the Authority’s determination to address environmental, economic and social issues using the best science and regional feedback to get the Basin back on a long term, sustainable footing.” Authority members considered a wide range of Basin resource issues related to the new Basin Plan including discussions on community consultation, economic and social issues, climate variability, key environmental and river management assets, water planning issues, risk assessment and water quality, salinity and natural resource management issues. Before their formal board meeting, members met with the Basin Community Committee Chair Ms Joan Burns, catchment management leaders, business and industry representatives. They gained a local perspective from the Victorian member for Mildura, Mr Peter Crisp MLA, Mildura Mayor Cr Glen Milne, Wentworth Mayor, Cr Margaret Thomson, Mildura Rural City Councillor, Cr John Arnold and a range of other community leaders. They were also briefed by Evelyn Crawford, Chair of the Barkindji Elders Council. Mr Taylor said these valuable community discussions reinforced the board’s belief in the importance of holding meetings in regional areas and said their next meeting would be held at Moree. The establishment of the Authority, which absorbed the functions of the former Murray-Darling Basin Commission, means that for the first time a single agency is now responsible for planning integrated management of the water resources of the entire Basin. At their first meeting in Canberra on 1 June, the Authority members approved a Basin Plan Concept Statement and facilitated the formation of the 16 member Basin Community Committee. The members of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority are: Mike Taylor (Chair); Professor Barry Hart; Dr Diana Day; David Green; Dianne Davidson; and Rob Freeman (Chief Executive). For more information on the Authority and the development of the new Basin Plan go to www.mdba.gov.au Basin river diversions lowest on record - report The Independent Audit Group Report on the Cap 2007-08 reported that the low water use reflected continuing severe drought conditions throughout most of the Basin, but especially in the southern parts. This continues the pattern of lowest diversions on record for the Basin, despite the high level of diversions in Queensland following significant rainfall events over the water year. The auditors commented that the continuation of the severe drought conditions reinforced the need to recalibrate models to better reflect the extreme conditions and management responses. The 2007-08 audit identifies progress in each of the states and the ACT in establishing and/or operating the Cap. The annual audit is one of the functions the new Authority assumed from the former Murray-Darling Basin Commission which ceased to exist in December 2008. The centrepiece of the Authority’s new activities is to prepare, by 2011, a plan to set sustainable limits on water that can be taken from surface and groundwater systems across the entire Basin. The current Cap is based on historical figures, that is, water diverted in 1993-4. The new sustainable limits will be based on scientific evidence of sustainability. A companion report, the Water Audit Monitoring Report 2007–08 also recently released shows that, based on the limited information, the allocation of groundwater in the Basin was 2,532 GL and usage was 1,531 GL. Total water made available for environmental use was 95 GL and total net consumptive environmental use was 20 GL. Total Cap adjustments for Environmental water use was Copies of the reports are available online at www.mdba.gov.au/services/publications Lock 2 to close for repairs, upgrade MDBA Chief Executive Mr Rob Freeman said the lock closure is part of a six-year maintenance program on all of the locks along the river. “This is the first time we have planned to empty the lock chamber at Lock 2 since the late 1960s when the wooden gates were replaced with steel. The empty locks will allow SA Water to do a comprehensive inspection of the underwater components,” Mr Freeman said. “Although users will not be able to travel the full length of the River during this period, they will still be able to enjoy using the river either upstream or downstream of Lock 2. He said the grounds and facilities around the lock would also be closed to the general public and would reopen following completion of the maintenance. Works to be carried out on Lock 2 include:
Mr Freeman said consultation with River Murray tourism operators helped to develop the works program to avoid peak boating seasons and to minimise the interruption.
The community will be notified when the work is complete and the lock chamber is back in operation. “The lock and weirs have been operating for more than 80 years and this work will ensure that they continue to operate for a long time to come,” Mr Freeman said. The next lock scheduled for maintenance is Lock 3 at Loxton and it is anticipated work will begin in January 2010. The public will be notified prior to the closure of the lock. For more information go to www.mdba.gov.au/water/river_operations Basin water storages website a hit with visitors Launched in April by Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, the site is attracting an average of 500 individual visitors each week. They have viewed a total of 24,500 pages since the site began. The site includes data collated from water management sources in the four Basin states. Water managers, irrigators, community and environment groups, students, and anyone else with an interest can just click on an interactive map of the Basin for the latest data on water held in public storage anywhere in the Basin. They can also check the current volume of water in each storage facility expressed as a figure and a percentage. And for the River Murray, current storage levels can be compared against historical comparisons at the click of a mouse. Visitors can also access information on the latest seasonal water allocations via links to each relevant State water agency. In response to public interest, the water volume and level of South Australia’s Lower Lakes is viewable on the website and updated weekly. People visiting the site can download a detailed quarterly Basin-wide water resource spreadsheet, which includes estimates of water held in private storages in the northern Basin, and commitments in each river system. The Water in Storages site is available at www.mdba.gov.au/water/waterinstorage MDBA Murray environmental water purchase concludes Chief Executive Mr Rob Freeman said the invitation was fully subscribed receiving more than 350 expressions of interest from willing sellers proposing a sale price for all or part of their water entitlement. “Due to this high level of interest, the project’s capacity to purchase entitlements was quickly reached,” he said. “It will be a valuable addition to The Living Murray program water portfolio which will translate into water for the stressed river and wetlands when water is available.” For more information call 1800 687 044 or visit www.mdba.gov.au/water/waterpurchaseproject Water to be recovered for The Living Murray The 500GL is made up of 342 GL on the Environmental Water Register and 163 GL on the Eligible Measures Register. The Eligible Measures Register lists projects which are being implemented or have been completed and which are subject to final technical, legal or administrative completion. The Living Murray water is measured as a long-term average increase in flows in the Murray River. This is because the entitlements recovered are subject to prevailing water allocation rules – currently at record low levels. However, in the event of a year of average inflows, the Living Murray program will provide 500 GL of water to the environment and in a wet year, significantly more than 500 GL. For more information and to read the latest Living Murray Water recovery progress report go to www.mdba.gov.au/programs/tlm Barmah Choke trading rules relaxation extended to end of September Chief Executive Mr Rob Freeman said the decision was based on the drought and the low water resource outlook for the 2009-10 water season. “It is highly unlikely that channel capacity will be reached between 1 July and 30 September as a result of extending the Barmah Choke relaxation rule,” he said. The minimal net trades through the Barmah Choke at the end of May 2009 and the low water resource outlook for the Murray system show that there was a low risk of exceeding the channel capacity of the Choke. Mr Freeman said extending the relaxation rule would continue to enable entitlement holders above the Choke to sell their water allocations downstream. The Barmah Choke constrains the volume of water that can pass for downstream users and delivery of additional flows from trading water allocations from upstream to downstream cannot be guaranteed. However, because of the extended drought conditions and the lower than normal flows in the river, transfers of allocations are guaranteed. “If weather conditions change and there is more water within the river, we may need to cease this trading arrangement,” Mr Freeman said. “However, any allocation transfers approved up until that time would be honoured. For more information call (02) 6279 0141 Budding filmmakers show their Gunbower ‘Storylines' The project, undertaken on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's Living Murray program, called for anyone interested in telling their stories to attend an all expenses paid digital storytelling workshop at the Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE in April 2008. Under the guidance of documentary filmmaker Malcolm McKinnon, the successful applicants scripted and produced their own short film using photos, music, video and voice-over narration. The films celebrate the social, cultural and ecological values of this precious icon site. For more information and a free DVD and teachers pack contact Verity McLucas: verity.mclucas@evict.org.au (03) 9341 8109. Budding photographers sought to show meaning of environment G-MW Corporate Risk Manager, Martin Krzywak says the competition aims to focus the region’s attention on the importance of the environment. “The competition is an opportunity for everyone from school children to professionals to capture images that illustrate what the environment, whether it is local, regional even global, means to them. There are prizes for all categories and the winning entries are displayed in our offices and publications,” said Mr Krzywak. The competition is open to electronic photographs and the entries will be assessed on artistic quality, originality and relevance to the theme, by a panel of industry representatives. All entries will become the property of G-MW for public display. Winners will be announced on August 2 2009 – National Tree Day. There are three competition categories: primary school students, secondary school students and open age group. All prizes include a $150 gift voucher. Students will also win a local indigenous tree. Entries close Friday, 17 July 2009 For more information contact ems@g-mwater.com.au. Water markets research scholarships available A range of water analyses, case studies and water modelling will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team working on an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project. The research is part of a larger project funded by the Australian Research Council and five industry partners:
Each candidate will receive a tax-free scholarship of $26,669 per annum plus a budget of $6,000 per annum for costs associated with the research.
Top-up scholarships may also be available. All candidates will be based at UniSA’s City West campus in Adelaide, within the CRMA. Candidates interested in studying the community and social impacts of water markets in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia are encouraged to apply. In particular, we are looking for graduates with strong qualifications in environmental or natural resource economics, econometrics and/or sociology. Candidates must be Australian and NZ Citizens and Permanent Residents of Australia. Applications close on 31 August 2009. For more information on the scholarships go to www.unisa.edu.au/resdegrees/scholarships or email sarah.wheeler@unisa.edu.au or belinda.spagnoletti@unisa.edu.au ends |
|
  |
Connect with MDBAEngagement news Media releases |
