Why the Murray–Darling Basin matters

This guide will help you understand why improving the health of the rivers in the Murray–Darling Basin is important and what will happen if their health declines. It will also help you understand why competing needs for water must be balanced to build a sustainable future for the river system and the communities who rely on it.

Reading time: 11 mins

Learn

• Why healthy rivers are important

• Who relies on water from the Basin rivers

• How water shortages affect those who rely on the river system

• Why the rivers are under pressure

• How the Basin Plan aims to improve the health of the river system

Section 2 of 3

Who relies on water and what happens if they don’t get enough

Water is needed for farming, communities, Indigenous cultural practices, and plants and animals.

Farming

40% of all Australian farms are in the basin.

Food grown in the Basin feeds Australia and the world. The production of food and fibre contributes significantly to Australia’s economy, with much of this produce exported to other countries.

• The Basin supports 7,300 irrigated agriculture businesses.
• The Basin produces $22 billion worth of food and fibre every year.
• 40% of all Australian farms are in the Basin.

Agriculture requires access to a lot of water. If work isn’t done to improve the Basin’s health, the supply of water for irrigation will be at risk, which will threaten the many jobs, businesses and communities that the farming industry creates and supports.

When farmers don’t get water

• Permanent crops die. Farmers with crops that need to grow for many years before they can be harvested, like wine grapes, fruit trees or nuts, will see their crops die or lose years of growth.
• Farmers lose their harvest. Farmers with seasonal crops that are replanted annually, like peas, hay or cotton, won’t see their plants survive until harvest.

Communities

More than three million people living in and around the Basin rely on water from the river system.

Clean, safe water is essential for human health. Good-quality water is important for communities in the Basin in other ways too.

• Clean drinking water is essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights, according to the UN.
• Businesses such as cafes and restaurants, pubs, offices, schools and universities in the Basin all use water from the river system.
• For many, enjoying the beauty of local waterways is one of the best things about living in the Basin. People enjoy activities such as swimming, fishing and kayaking.
• Tourists spend $11 billion in the Basin every year. They come to enjoy the beauty of the rivers, lakes and their surroundings as well as activities such as boating and fishing.

When communities don’t get water

• People’s health is at risk. Water out of the tap might not be safe to drink, cook with or wash in. It might need to be boiled before it’s used.
• People, businesses and organisations have to pay for water when it is trucked in. They have to ration it carefully so they don’t run out before the trucks return.
• Businesses lose money. When the rivers and lakes start to dry up and water quality decreases, tourists stop coming. Many small businesses that rely on tourists, such as tackle-shop owners, riverboat tour operators and restaurant owners, lose money. This damages the local economy.
• The environment people enjoy is degraded.

First Nations people

Around 99,000 Aboriginal people from more than 40 different First Nations live in the Murray–Darling Basin. Water plays a key role in their wellbeing and identity and in keeping aspects of Aboriginal culture alive.

As well as being affected by the same issues as non-Indigenous people in Basin communities, people from more than 40 First Nations in the area have a unique connection to Murray–Darling waterways. Water plays an important part in some Indigenous cultural traditions and helps maintain a connection with Country.

• First Nations people have lived in what we now call the Murray–Darling Basin for over 50,000 years. Their way of life is interwoven with the rivers and tributaries that run through those regions.
• The Basin contains many sacred and spiritually significant sites. Clean water is needed to maintain these sites.
• Traditional activities like fishing, hunting, ceremonies and harvesting medicinal plants and herbs rely on clean water.
• Water also helps preserve and protect important sites such as burial mounds, campsites and scarred or carved trees whose bark was used to make tools and record Indigenous history.

When First Nations sites don’t get water

When there isn’t enough water flowing through important areas, First Nations people lose their connection with Country in many ways.

• Passing down history, teachings and traditions to younger generations becomes difficult when sacred sites are degraded.
• Hunting and fishing in and around the river, which is traditionally a source of food, becomes difficult or impossible.

The environment

Although it spans a vast area, the Basin is a single, interconnected system. When parts are starved of water and begin to die, this has serious consequences not just for the environment, plants and animals, but also for the communities and industries that rely on healthy water.

The Basin contains a variety of unique and delicate ecosystems with plants and animals that aren't found anywhere else in the world. This includes 120 waterbird species, more than 50 native fish species, and 16 internationally recognised and protected wetlands.

Each ecosystem is important to the health of the Basin as a whole.

• Forests help to keep the whole river system healthy. Tree roots hold the banks of the river together, stopping erosion and allowing the river to flow and function as it should.
• Wetlands help with water quality. When water from rivers overflows, wetland plants absorb excess nitrogen and phosphorous, preventing these chemicals from poisoning fish and damaging crops.

When the environment doesn’t get enough water

Without water, plants and animals in many ecosystems will die.

• Fish deaths become more likely. Less water means algal blooms and blackwater events are more likely. Less water also means the concentration of salt and toxic chemicals increases.
• Wetlands die without water. Areas that are unique to Australia, including those that are internationally recognised for their diversity and uniqueness, dry out.
• Bird and fish can’t breed as their breeding habitats dry out.

When the environment suffers, people suffer too.

• Too much salt in the water can make water too salty for drinking or watering crops, and can poison the land.
• When toxic chemicals enter the river system because of acid sulfate soils the water isn’t safe for drinking, irrigation or recreation.
• Algal blooms can be toxic to people as well as plants and animals.