Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin
Water for the Future - Fact sheet
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, October 2009
PDF file
The Australian Government is committed to restoring the health of our rivers by investing in more efficient water use and delivery, by finding new sources of water, and buying back water entitlements from willing sellers to return water to the environment.
Walker Flat South Australia
Photo: J Baker and DEWHA
The health of the Murray-Darling Basin (the Basin) is in decline. The ecosystems which rely on the water flowing through the Basin's rivers and tributaries are under considerable pressure, due to unsustainable extraction levels for irrigation and other extractive uses. This problem is likely to become worse as water availability declines, due to climate change.
Without sufficient water, the Basin's ecosystems will continue to deteriorate, threatening many species and the viability of farming, non-rural production, cities and towns.
Water for the Future is a $12.9 billion plan to secure the long-term water supply for all Australians. As part of this plan, $3.1 billion will be invested in Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin to purchase water entitlements from willing sellers.
There is compelling scientific evidence that we are facing a future with less water. The purchase of water entitlements is part of an integrated effort to meet this challenge. It is important to take a national approach to water management and this is exactly what the Australian Government is doing by implementing an integrated plan for the Murray-Darling Basin; not just water buy-backs.
The Australian Government's plan to help Basin communities meet the challenges ahead has three main elements: the Basin Plan, which will be implemented by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and will set scientifically based sustainable limits on water use; buying water from willing sellers for our rivers and wetlands; and extensive investment in more efficient irrigation systems. It is critical that immediate action is taken to address these problems.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is currently preparing the whole of Basin Plan, which will set a long-term sustainable and enforceable diversion limit on both surface and groundwater within the Basin. New state catchment and groundwater management plans will need to be consistent with the diversion limits set in the Basin Plan. This means that the Basin's water resources will no longer be managed state-by-state, but from a whole-of-Basin perspective.
The Basin Plan will also address the use of environmental water, management of salinity and water quality, trading rules and arrangements for the management of storages in the Murray River during drought.
In developing this Basin Plan, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority will account for future climate change and address the legacy of past excessive use by including all consumptive users of water in the Basin. However, the declining health of the Basin means that it is imperative that action is taken now, rather than wait until the new Basin Plan comes into effect in 2011, before more water is returned to the environment.
Under Water for the Future, excessive consumptive use and declining river health are urgent priorities and these are to be addressed immediately by the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program.
The goal of Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin is to purchase water entitlements so that the water allocated to them can be used for the environment. This will improve the health of the Basin's rivers, wetlands and floodplains.
By purchasing water entitlements from willing sellers and investing in water savings through improved irrigation efficiency, we expect the transition to the Basin Plan to be smoother and any impacts on communities will be smaller.
The water buy-back program is providing immediate action for the Basin's stressed rivers and wetlands and it is also part of a long-term strategy to provide a permanent rebalancing between consumptive water use and the environment.
The Australian Government conducted the first round of water purchases in 2007-08, with around 24 gigalitres of entitlements worth nearly $34 million purchased.
In 2008-09 a second round of water purchase tenders was conducted. These tenders were highly successful, becoming fully subscribed ahead of the scheduled closing date of 30 June 2009.
As part of the 2008-09 water purchase tenders, the Australian Government made the largest single purchase of water for the environment in Australia's history when it purchased 240 gigalitres of water entitlements from Twynam Agricultural Group for $303 million. These water entitlements will be used to restore river and wetland health in many stressed catchments, potentially benefiting the ecologically significant wetlands of the Macquarie Marshes, Gwydir Wetlands, Booligal Wetlands, and Fivebough and Tuckerbill Swamps.
In September 2008, the Australian Government provided a substantial financial contribution to the NSW Governments purchase of Toorale Station in return for the Toorale Station water entitlements. Through this purchase, the Commonwealth will acquire entitlements to extract 14 gigalitres of water from the Warrego and Darling Rivers each year, along with rights to harvest water from the floodplain.
In securing these water entitlements and floodplain harvesting rights, the deal will return an average of 20 gigalitres of water to the Darling River each year, peaking at up to 80 gigalitres in flood years.
As at 30 September 2009 the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program had secured the purchase of 612 gigalitres of water entitlements worth nearly $947 million. The progress of the program, including updated information on the outcomes of the 2008-09 water purchase tenders, will be regularly updated on the Department's website.
The water rights acquired by the Commonwealth under Water for the Future become part of the Commonwealth environmental water holdings. These holdings are managed by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH).
The functions of the CEWH are to be performed for the purpose of protecting or restoring environmental assets of the Murray-Darling Basin, and other areas outside the Basin where the Commonwealth holds water, so as to give effect to relevant international agreements. In making decisions on use of the Commonwealth's environmental water holdings, the CEWH takes into account advice from an independent Environmental Water Scientific Advisory Committee as well as input from Basin state governments and local site managers.
During the 2008-09 watering year, 10.9 billion litres was allocated from the Commonwealth environmental water holdings for use at 10 sites in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. The watering that was undertaken was aimed at protecting mature River Red Gum communities, pockets of healthy ecosystems in drought affected floodplains and wetlands, and refuges for threatened species, such as the Murray Hardyhead and Southern Bell frog.
In June 2009 the Water Recovery and Environmental Use Stakeholder Reference Panel was established. The panel will provide stakeholder views on the arrangements for environmental water purchases under the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program, and provide feedback on the proposed arrangements for managing the water allocated to entitlements the Commonwealth has bought for the environment.
The panel comprises stakeholders from a diversity of backgrounds, who also come from a wide range of geographical locations in the Basin. Panel members have been chosen so that feedback can be provided from a range of different perspectives and community interests. The panel's views will be considered by the Department as it refines, implements and evaluates Water for the Future programs.
The Murray-Darling system has had too much water taken out for too long. Now is the time to restore the balance, and investing in long-term water security for the environment will take the pressure off these important river systems.
More information
For more information about the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program, call 1800 218 478; email: waterpurchasing@environment.gov.au or visit www.environment.gov.au/waterpurchasing
For more information about environmental watering visit www.environment.gov.au/water/policy-programs/cewh/index.html
Before you download
Most publications are available as PDF files. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files.
If you are unable to access a publication, please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window