Competing demands for Water

Water has been extracted from the Murray-Darling system for irrigation and other uses since the early 1900's, but the volume extracted has risen dramatically since the mid-1950s. While this has brought many economic and social benefits, the health of the rivers and wetlands has suffered. A Cap on water diversions from the rivers has been put in place to help move towards a more balanced situation.

Current action: see Review of the Operation of the Cap
Background information: see Water Use; The Impacts of Water Regulation and Storage on the Basin's Rivers; The Cap

Policies, Strategies and Investigations
Current projects