Water management

In its natural state the River Murray was an unpredictable source of water.  Severe droughts could turn the river into a chain of salt waterholes. To ensure reliable supply, the river’s flow has been regulated for many years. Since the Hume Dam was completed in 1936, a continuous flow has been maintained throughout the length of the Murray.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) manages the River Murray in close cooperation with the state authorities to ensure reliable water supplies for all users, providing crucial services such as:

• water storage, management and delivery at four major storages – Dartmouth and Hume dams, Lake Victoria and Menindee Lakes
• operating salinity mitigation schemes that prevent saline water entering the River Murray
• maintaining the rivers operating structures – 14 weirs and locks, and four barrages (barriers constructed near the river’s mouth to stop the entry of sea water).

Enormous strain is now being placed on the Basin’s communities, industries and natural environment by a combination of prolonged drought, floods, emerging changes in climate, population growth and the impact of past water allocation decisions.

The challenge for us is managing the sustainable use of the Basin’s water resources in a manner that protects the environment, as well as the communities and industries that depend on it.

The Water Act 2007 was passed by the Australian Government in 2007 to help coordinate a national approach to water management and meet the challenges facing water management in the Murray–Darling Basin. Importantly, the Water Act established the Murray–Darling Authority to prepare a Basin Plan for the sustainable management of water across the whole of the Murray–Darling Basin.

MDBA’s water management responsibilities include:

• preparing the Basin Plan and future amendments to the Basin Plan for adoption by the Commonwealth Water Minister
• implementing and enforcing the Basin Plan
• advising the minister on the accreditation of state water resource plans
• operating the River Murray system and delivering water to users in a fair and efficient way
• managing The Living Murray program, one of Australia’s most significant river restoration programs
• managing the Sea to Hume fishway program which aims to open up 2,100 km of the River Murray to free passage by native fish
• developing a water rights information service which facilitates water trading across the Basin
• measuring and monitoring water resources in the Basin
• engaging and educating the Australian community about the Basin’s water resources.

The effects of the 2010 floods [PDF] [Word]

About the Basin

Water in storages

River operations

River information

Blue-green algae