Water for the Future

The Basin Plan

Frequently asked questions

Q1 Why is water reform needed?

The consumption of water for human use and for the environment needs to be sustainable over the longer term for people who live in the Basin, water dependent industries and the environment. Increasing the amount of water available for rivers and wetlands and the ecosystems they support is in the interests of all Australians including the Basin communities that depend on a healthy environment to continue to meet demand for food and fibre production.

Q2 What will happen to my entitlements? Will I be forced to sell?

No. The government has consistently stated that it will bridge the gap to new sustainable diversion limits and will only recover water from farmers who choose to participate in our programs including grants for irrigation infrastructure upgrades and water purchase. As a result, no-one's water entitlements will be cut.

Q3 What support is the government going to provide communities?

The government has stated that it will consider the need for further adjustment assistance in those areas most likely to be impacted by the transition to reduced water use when the Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs) are finalised and associated impacts can be evaluated.

The MDBA's proposal to commence the SDLs from 2019 will lessen impacts by providing an extended transition period for communities to adapt to the reduced availability of water. This will also allow planned investments in modernising irrigation infrastructure and environmental works to be completed before SDLs come into effect.

In the meantime, the government is taking steps to deepen its understanding of potential impacts and possible responses. In particular, the government has been consulting through Regional Development Australia committees over the possible impacts of the Basin Plan. This consultation will assist the Government to better understand local Basin community circumstances and to encourage the development of potential solutions to build industry productivity and strengthen economic diversification and resilience.

The government's Water for the Future program is investing heavily to recover water for the environment and to fund major irrigation modernisation projects across the Basin. This will help irrigators and communities adjust to a future with less water. Every drop of water recovered for the environment is being paid for by the Government, with a priority focus on investment in water saving irrigation infrastructure. In addition, the government has provided $10 million in funding to investigate environmental works and measures and is working with state governments and the MDBA to consider new and revised river management arrangements that could deliver environmental outcomes more efficiently. Any new works or rules changes will help to inform the 2015 review of SDLs.

Q4 Why can't government build more dams or pump water to reach sustainable diversion limits?

Whilst technically feasible, studies undertaken so far have found that large-scale infrastructure proposals such as dams and pipelines come with extremely high development and operating costs. Many have not progressed as the environmental, economic and social costs have outweighed the benefits.

However dams may be supported by Commonwealth programs if they are in the right location and if they are properly managed. For example, the government has contributed to the funding of the Chaffey Dam in North West NSW, Headquarters Dam in Tasmania and a major new network of irrigation facilities in Tasmania to significantly improve food production there. The government has also given environmental approval for the expansion of the irrigation system throughout the Ord in delivering the Ord Stage 2.

The government is also providing $10 million towards the cost of investigating environmental works and measures projects which may reduce the need to recover water from consumptive users and new arrangements for delivering irrigation infrastructure and to enable the Basin States to sell water directly to the government.

Q5 How do infrastructure projects contribute towards meeting the sustainable diversion limits particularly for those communities likely to be worst affected by the draft Plan?

The funding priority until the mid term review in 2015 will be infrastructure rather than water purchase. Across the Basin, governments are supporting irrigators, communities and industries to do more with the water they have and to identify and build water-saving infrastructure. The government is investing about $4.8 billion in hundreds of infrastructure and water management projects across the Basin as part of the Water for the Future initiative. The projects range from major landscape-scale irrigation delivery system renewal to individual on-farm projects. A share of the water saved through these investments is being returned to the environment and helping to 'bridge the gap' between current levels of use and the sustainable diversion limits proposed by the Authority.

Q6 How will the government recover the water to 'bridge the gap'?

The government is committed to 'bridging the gap' between the amount of water currently removed from the river system and the environmentally sustainable diversion limit that will be in the Basin Plan. The Government will publish, for consultation, a draft water recovery strategy that, when finished, will give communities a clear and transparent plan for water recovery.

The funding priority until the mid-term review in 2015 will be infrastructure rather than water purchase. The Government has announced it is not considering general tenders in the southern connected system before 2013. Until then, buyback will focus on targeted purchases and water purchases associated with subsystem retirement and reconfiguration. There is also scope to improve the efficiency of water use and delivery through changes to river operations and environmental works and measures.

Q7 How will Commonwealth use environmental water?

Commonwealth environmental water is already being returned to rivers and wetlands throughout the Basin. Proposals for environmental use are assessed against a published framework and in the future will also be guided by the Environment Watering Plan in the Basin Plan. The use of Commonwealth environmental water is supported by a network of partners including other environmental water managers, catchment management authorities, state agencies, environmental water advisory groups, river operators, scientific organisations and site managers. These partners help to manage Commonwealth environmental water by assisting to decide where it is best used, helping to deliver the water, and to monitor the outcomes.

Q8 How were the recommendations of the Windsor Inquiry taken into account?

The government responded to the final report of the Windsor Inquiry "Of Drought and Flooding Rains: The Impact of the Basin Plan on Regional Australia" on 24 November 2011.

These include agreeing to:

Q9 What impact will sustainable diversion limits outlined in the draft Basin Plan have on food security and food prices?

Australia will not become a net importer of food because of the Basin Plan. Australia produces twice as much food as it consumes and produces almost all its fresh food. About one third of the value of irrigated agriculture in the Basin comes from cotton and wine grapes which do not contribute to our food security.

The government's $4.8 billion investment in water infrastructure and management is helping to protect our food security by increasing the water efficiency and productivity of irrigators. The government is also developing Australia's first National Food Plan to deliver a sustainable, globally competitive, resilient food supply that supports access to nutritious and affordable food.

Q10 Won't the trade of environmental water affect the reliability of supply?

No it won't over time and in fact it has the potential to improve the reliability of supply of environmental water. Trade is one of the portfolio management options that can be utilised to ensure that environmental water is efficiently managed across the Basin. It is about managing the water as effectively as possible – both across time and across environmental sites. Trade opportunities may arise for environmental water because of differences in demand for water between agricultural users and the environment. There is the potential for mutually beneficial trades between environmental and consumptive users.

Q11 Does the government's commitment to 'bridge the gap' apply to groundwater?

Yes. The Australian Government has committed to bridge the gap in all systems where there is a gap between baseline diversion limits (BDL) and the sustainable diversion limits (SDLs) in the final Basin Plan. This applies to both surface and groundwater. The 'bridging the gap' commitment means that no-one's irrigation entitlements will be cut as the result of the Basin Plan SDLs. Water will not be taken from irrigators or other entitlement holders through compulsory acquisition."

Q12 How will the government bridge the groundwater gap?

The government is bridging the gap through a combination of water purchasing and investment in improved irrigation efficiency throughout the Murray-Darling Basin. At this stage, the government has not determined the mix of purchasing and infrastructure which would best be used to bridge the identified groundwater gaps.

Groundwater purchasing is not likely to commence before the Basin Plan is finalised. Further work is required to determine where and how recovery should occur in the groundwater systems. Discussions are underway with the relevant states on the regulatory regimes applying to the relevant aquifers. State governments may need to introduce new arrangements to allow for the purchase of groundwater entitlements separate from land.

Q13 Has the government recovered more water than is needed in some places?

In most catchments, the amount of water recovered for the environment to date is less than that proposed in the draft Basin Plan. However, current contracted water recovery in two catchments, the Lachlan and the Gwydir, is marginally (less than one gigalitre) greater than the reductions proposed in the draft Basin Plan.

Q14 Are applicants in catchments where the 'gap' has been bridged still eligible under current infrastructure funding rounds such as the On Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program?

Yes. The current rounds of infrastructure funding will be assessed using the existing program guidelines.

Q15 What about future infrastructure funding in catchments where the 'gap' has been bridged?

The eligibility criteria for future rounds of infrastructure funding will be specified in the relevant program guidelines. The focus of future infrastructure funding would logically be in catchments where there is still a 'gap' to bridge.

Q16 Why doesn't the government build more dams?

Dams play an important role in controlling water for consumption, flood mitigation and / or power generation. Australia has over 500 large dams. There is no Commonwealth policy against new dams. However consideration of any new dams would require a full assessment of both the economic and environmental costs and benefits. In the case of northern Australia, CSIRO's Northern Australian Sustainable Yields study indicated that the opportunities for construction of viable dams in northern Australia were limited due to the high seasonal variability in rainfall, high rates of evaporation and generally unsuitable terrain.

Videos

Environmental watering in the Murrumbidgee River

More than 160 gigalitres of environmental water was released into the Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales in June 2011. >>Watch Video

 
Draft Murray-Darling Basin plan

Draft Basin Plan 
Find out more about the draft Basin Plan.


Resources

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