Basin Drought Refuses to Break

The River Murray system is now entering its sixth year of drought - the worst in decades. It is causing severe financial hardship for many communities and making people sad and concerned.  Large areas of the River Murray's floodplains are now under extreme environmental stress.

According to the latest Drought Update from River Murray Water (RMW), less water has flowed into the River Murray system over the past five years than ever before.

It has now been ten years since many floodplains and wetlands along the lower reaches of the Murray experienced a beneficial flood.

If the dry conditions continue there will be very little water available to farmers for irrigation, and the birds and animals that depend on wetlands for feeding and breeding will be in big trouble.

Without heavy, steady rain, large quantities of water will need to be transferred from Dartmouth Reservoir to Hume Reservoir and from Hume Reservoir to Lake Victoria to meet farmers' irrigation needs and to help the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin to keep flowing. Let's all hope that it rains very soon!