Why murray darling basin is important

How are dams being managed to reduce the impact of flooding? The MDBA aims to make sure dam structures remain safe during floods. Why is erosion occurring in the River Murray and particularly through the Barmah Choke? Erosion of the riverbank has always been a feature of the River Murray. Subscribe to our email list to receive the latest media releases.

Webinars Learn more about water management and river operations by joining our regular webinars. Learn more about the annual conference and how to attend. Social media Connect with us. Find out more about a regional community forum near you. Open menu. Why do South Australian farmers get water but New South Wales farmers don't How are dams being managed to reduce the impact of flooding? More than 2. What is the Murray—Darling Basin? See a map of the Basin.

See the 22 major catchments of the basin What you need to know The rivers in the Basin are under pressure The amount of water used from the rivers of the Basin has increased substantially over time. Find out about the rivers, wetlands and floodplains in the Basin Explore an atlas of plants and animals in the Basin The Murray—Darling Basin Plan aims to improve the health of the Basin The Murray—Darling Basin Plan was created to improve the health of the Basin, while continuing to support farming and other industries for the benefit of the Australian community.

Find out more about the Basin Plan See the latest report card Explore the Basin and its importance Find out about the unique environments of the Basin and plants and animals Understand how water and land in the Basin is significant to First Nations people Learn more about: The Murray—Darling Basin Plan Why we need to save the rivers How drought impacts the Basin Who manages water in the Basin.

Explore this section. Many issues affect the water resources and ecosystems of the MDB including salinity , erosion , blue-green algal blooms , water quality, and invasive species. Climate change and resultant possible increases in drought pose a significant risk to the availability of surface water in the MDB. The almost decade-long millennium drought , starting around , caused significant damage to ecosystems as well as to the economy.

The flooding enabled many species to recover from the effects of a long drought but also caused widespread damage to property. Only those proposals that have or are likely to have a significant impact on a MNES must be referred to the Commonwealth. Programs such as the Living Murray were made to recover water entitlements so more water could stay in the rivers.

Agreement was not reached with all the states, so the Commonwealth legislated to achieve its aims using only Commonwealth powers. It found more water than all of Sydney Harbour is missing from the Murray-Darling Basin - equating to hundreds of billions of litres of water. The government estimates that around gigalitres of water has been recovered and Mr Littleproud said this claim is supported by a University of Melbourne study released in October last year.

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox. Explore SBS. Why is the Murray-Darling Basin so important and how did we end up at this point? How did we get here? What is the Murray—Darling Basin? Source: AAP. Diminishing water levels on the Darling River. Aerators to be deployed across NSW to minimise fish deaths. Hundreds of thousands of dead fish in the Menindee weir pool.

Source: SBS News. Read More. The Darling River near Menindee. The report makes clear that while the drought played a role in the fish kills, the underlying cause is that there just isn't enough high quality water in the Darling River. Together, we can achieve large-scale victories across Australia—victories rooted in solid science, collaboration and a strategic framework for change. The Nature Conservancy focuses on large-scale impact across Australia. Here is some of the work we're doing to help protect habitat in the lower Murray-Darling Basin:.

This is a big step towards reviving the lower Murray-Darling Basin to its former glory. This 34, hectare property is protecting bird species, more than plant species and 19 native fish species. In times of drought, these natural wetlands and floodplains provide desperately needed refuge for endangered species such as the Australasian Bittern and Australian Painted-snipe, as well as the iconic Murray Cod that is under serious threat.

With this game-changing purchase, our critical work at the Great Cumbung has just begun. We will be managing the conservation of these wetlands and extending our efforts to help protect other areas of the Murray-Darling Basin and important habitat across Australia. We're reversing the damage at Gayini to reinstate a more natural flooding regime to give our iconic species a fighting chance to thrive again.

Gayini Nimmie-Caira neighbours the Great Cumbung. It's a remarkable place that's one of the few significant remaining areas of river red gums in Australia.