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TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENTImplementing targeted recovery actionThe concept of ‘environmental water’ entered water policy considerationsin the early 2000s. Referring broadly to water used to improveor maintain the health of a river system – including dependentplants and animals – such water has timing, duration and volumeaspects. For example, a certain flow volume may be required overseveral weeks to support fish migration.In 2001, MinCo developed 15 objectives for a healthy workingRiver Murray and released a discussion paper which stimulatedextensive public comment from irrigators, residents, governments,scientists and traditional owners. The information generated informedthe establishment of The Living Murray (TLM) programme, managedby the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (which later became theMurray–Darling Basin Authority or MDBA). Encapsulating the powerof cooperative effort and the strength of community-wide participation,this jointly-funded partnership of the basin governments(excluding Queensland) and the Australian Government, set out forthe first time to recover 500 GL of additional flow in the river.Investing almost $A1 billion since 2004, TLM has fundedresearch, on-farm efficiencies (such as better irrigation systems)and improved infrastructure (for example, pipelining previouslyopen water channels), thus delivering real gains towards meetingour consumptive needs with less water. The recovered water hasbeen used for the restoration of six ‘icon’ sites on the River Murray– those jointly agreed as of the highest ecological value and culturalsignificance – as well as improving instream health. In addition,TLM has supported upgrades or installation of fishways to improvefish passage through dams and weirs, and has fostered many partnerships,including with and between indigenous nations in the basin.Stimulus for national coordinationDespite all the united effort to improve trade, efficiency and riverhealth, the worst drought on record (2000-2009) highlighted thecontinuing overall inequity between consumption and conservation.The effects resonated throughout the country as irrigated agriculturalproduction fell by an estimated 20 per cent with flow-on effectsto jobs. Tourism, recreation, cultural and spiritual practices wereimpacted as many rivers experienced flows almost 40 per cent belowprevious records; and flow to the Murray Mouth fell by up to 96 percent. An iconic and loved species, the river red gum tree portrayed agraphic illustration of a critically declining environment as it begandying over extensive areas.Widespread public debate raged about equitable management ofthe basin’s water resources. The Prime Minister ultimately recognizedthat for water resources to be managed holistically and forthe long-term, hard decisions must be taken that would affect largenumbers of people, requiring national governance. In 2007, at theheight of the drought, the Australian Government announcedmajor reform to deliver a basin-wide sustainable level of waterdiversion, supported by a $A10 billion package of initiatives.Products of national reformThis reform was enshrined in legislation (the Water Act 2007) andsupported by an Intergovernmental Agreement (2008), under whichstates referred sufficient powers to the Commonwealth to progressthe reform. The independent MDBA was charged with developing thebasin-wide strategic management plan (the Basin Plan).For the first time, a thoroughly investigated and considered limiton overall extraction from the basin’s surface and groundwater wasdetermined and, under this, regional planning levellimits were set. Known as the sustainable diversionlimits (SDLs), these were derived after first determiningan ‘environmentally-sustainable level of take’,representing the amount of water that must remain inthe system to support the health of key ecosystems andecosystem functions in the basin (10,870 GL). It wasdetermined using data from numerous scientific andeconomic studies, a 114-year climate record, a hydrologiccomputer modelling platform and a rigorous, peerreviewed process.Despite all existing cooperative mechanisms, achievingan enforceable limit wasn’t easy and negotiationstook four years. The main area of discord, which polarizedirrigators and environmentalists, was determiningwhat constituted ‘sustainable’ extraction. Other issuesincluded where and how the ‘environmental’ watershould be reclaimed (with states and regions concernedabout securing enough water for their industries) andwhether an upstream catchment should be responsiblefor the passage of volumes of water downstream tobenefit areas outside their jurisdiction.Factors critical to the work’s progress includedbipartisan support from Australia’s two major politicalparties and general high-level consensus on thecompelling need to achieve sustainability. A processthat gave all stakeholders a voice was vital, includingmechanisms for their views to influence the outcome.For this purpose, MDBA staff toured the basinseveral times conducting hundreds of consultationsessions, and then responded to thousands of submissions.MinCo met frequently, allowing jurisdictionalviews to be expressed and negotiating agreed policy.Updated scientific advice and data drove revisions tothe hydrologic modelling method, and together withwell-considered submissions led to several revisions ofthe draft Basin Plan.Ultimately, while the scientific analysis indicated theoverarching sustainable diversion limit, the final recoverydetermination (2,750 GL) reflected a balanceddecision that would deliver a ‘healthy, working basin’through optimizing the environmental, economic andsocial outcomes. With acceptance by sufficient stakeholders,the Basin Plan became law in 2012, with atransition period before SDLs are enforceable in 2019.On-ground outcomesEnvironmental water recovery is occurring throughthe Commonwealth government’s $A12.9 billionWater for the Future initiative. Water savings accruedfrom infrastructure works and modernization projectsand direct purchasing of water rights (from volunteersellers at market price) are held by a statutory ‘waterholder’. This body delivers the environmental waterconsistent with the Basin Plan. Through such initiatives,together with earlier water recovery such asTLM, over 3,500 GL (about 20-25 per cent of historicalconsumptive water use) has already been made availablefor targeted purposeful environmental watering.[ 80 ]