River Murray’s future put up for discussion as Basin Plan review begins

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The national agreement on how water is used across the Murray-Darling Basin is being reviewed for the first time, and there are some worrying signs for South Australia.

Consultation opened last week on a review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which determines how much water irrigators and other users can take from the River Murray.

According to a discussion paper, the amount of water being used by humans in SA might not be sustainable, and might not be enough to achieve environmental goals.

The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth were rated as particularly vulnerable.

Not enough water was flowing through the barrages or out of the Murray Mouth, and the Coorong’s south lagoon was still too salty.

Experts would also need to consider whether some of the basin plan’s targets were still possible in the face of a changing climate.

For example, dredging operations at the Murray Mouth have been underway almost constantly over the past 14 years, despite a target that they should be required only five per cent of the time.

“Some assumptions made when the Basin Plan was developed 14 years ago, around the relationship between barrage flows and environmental outcomes, require reconsideration,” the paper said.

“It is clear some Basin Plan environmental outcomes may not be feasible and need to change.”

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority also had concerns about river flows and connectivity, ecosystem functioning, native fish and waterbirds along the South Australian stretch of the river.

This was partly because of the timing of water flows from interstate, and partly because there wasn’t enough water coming down the river as a whole.

But that did not necessarily mean that SA irrigators would need to use less water in future, MDBA spokeswoman Megan Winter told Murray Bridge News.

“We want to consider a wide range of responses before we go to the sustainable diversion limits,” she said.

No decisions have been made yet

The discussion paper also touched on issues including climate change, Indigenous involvement in decision-making and how water could best be used to help the environment.

Its release is just the first stage in what will be a long, detailed and likely contentious debate about how water is used up and down the river.

For now, MDBA chief executive Andrew McConville said he just wanted to hear public feedback on the issues raised.

“The basin plan has delivered real benefits, and we are starting to see improvements in some of the basin’s most important rivers and wetlands,” he said.

“But the evidence is also clear that climate change, ageing infrastructure, disconnected floodplains, declining native fish and poor water quality mean we need to do some things differently.

“At this point it is a discussion, not a set of decisions.

“Nothing in the review is yet settled, and we want to have a genuine conversation with communities, informed by their lived experience.”

A public consultation period will run until May 1.

Feedback will be incorporated into a report by the MDBA, which will make recommendations to the federal and state governments later this year.

• More information, have your say: Visit www.getinvolved.mdba.gov.au/2026basinplanreview or phone 1800 230 067.
• Read more: Murray-Darling Basin Plan is helping our river, but more needs to be done
• Read more: The Lower Murray is officially on life support – will we save it?