There is something neat about focusing on the Snowy Scheme at the top of the predominant part, in water flow terms, of the MDB system on the one hand and the Lower Lakes and the Barrages at the bottom, on the other. I see better management of both as the most important issues in need of reform with the greatest … Continue reading MDB- The Top and the Bottom →

Quotes from a recent MDBA report, as so often happens, demonstrate how as managers get closer to the practical implementation stage they realise the errors in their theoretical planning.Quotes"Natural flows in the Murray–Darling Basin are highly variable, with water-dependent ecosystems developing and evolving within this flow environment. The high degree of uncertainty over future inflows and the variable … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Plan-The Truth Dawns →

This is quite the best communication I have seen/heard/read on the Murray Darling Basin Plan, particularly in respect to the management of the Barrages and the Lower Lakes. It was driven by people who live on the Lakes (Goolwa), not by upstream irrigators. Here is the link.It is worthy of wider publicity and a considered … Continue reading Muddied Waters- A Documentary by Channel Seven-Adelaide →

AUSTRALIA'S key water storages are full to overflowing for the first time in 16 years.River officials on the weekend declared the Murray Darling Basin storages 100 per cent full.Storage levels increased by 108 gigalitres in the past week and is now 8555 GL, 100 per cent of capacity.The last time it reached this level was … Continue reading Water Storages Full to the Brim-Weekly Times Article, 17th September,2012 →

The Mayor of Hay recently described the Murray Darling Basin Plan as "a solution looking for a problem", that is a great summary,in brief.In somewhat more detail, following is my personal submission to the Murray Darling Basin Authority in April,2012.Submission to the Murray Darling Basin Authority. PreambleThe debate over the last year or so on … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Plan-Overview 15.08.12 →

How good is this! Written by a knowledgeable, eloquent friend.EDITORIAL 07.08. 12The Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Proposed Basin Plan, released this week, represents a potential communication catastrophe.  In terms of presentation, it is disastrous, bordering on incomprehensible.It lacks the fundamentals of acceptable information transmission: it has no start, no middle and no ending.  Importantly, it lacks an … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Plan 06.08.12 →

My friend Neil Eagle, who knows the Murray like the back of his hand, tells it like it is:-MDBA Ignores Public Submissions - Still No Basin Plan Balance!      Predictably Rhonda Dickson CEO of MDBA has announced they have seen nothing in the multitude of submissions to sway them from their intention of recommending in the … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Plan-Neil Eagle →

Some 25 years ago, when I first got involved with irrigation on the Darling River at Bourke I was struck by the massive variability of river flows, the apparent unawareness by the water authorities of the magnitude of the bigger flow events, how frequently (but irregularly) they occurred and the exaggerated view that water managers … Continue reading Water and the Environment →

Base PositionThe Millennium Drought had a major impact on the Basin.(The renowned recuperative power of the Australian landscape has been demonstrated in its spectacular recovery since the drought broke.)Water extractions were well controlled by the adaptive management approach embodied in the allocation process, guided by the Water Sharing Plans. Natural impacts from extreme drought are being incorrectly labelled as chronic … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Overview →

The following letter was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 9th. December, 2011:"The focus on the 2750 gigalitre (GLS) figure of claimed water "returned to the rivers" is highly misleading. This number refers to extraction entitlements.  Irrigation entitlements grant the right to extract water only when when seasonal allocations are made and this depends on water availability. When water … Continue reading Entitlements and Allocations →