Around 300 billion liters of commonwealth environmental water will flow into the River Murray Valley in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia over the next seven months, helping rejuvenate natural assets like the Lower Lakes in South Australia, Minister for the Environment Mark Butler announced in a statemnt Thursday.
Water entitlements acquired by the government’s water recovery programs are managed by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. Each year, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office undertakes planning for the use of environmental water based on the best available science and advice of local communities and state-based agencies.
The Commonwealth environmental water is to be used within the River Murray Valley including the river channel between Hume Dam to the Murray Mouth in South Australia, the lower Darling River channel below Menindee Lakes to Wentworth and associated low level floodplain and wetlands.
According to Mark Butler, this measure will support a broad range of environmental outcomes within the River Murray system including flows to the river channel, low-level floodplain wetlands, the Coorong and Lower Lakes.
And Mark Butler said the use of Commonwealth environmental water will help to improve water quality and flush salt and nutrients from the River Murray, improving conditions for vegetation, fish and water birds particularly in the Lower Lakes and the Coorong.
“Protecting and restoring water-dependant ecosystems is critical for the health of the overall system, which in turn benefits communities who live along the river and the whole Australian community who benefit from the food security and other benefits the River Murray provides,” he said.
The Labor government is investing more than 12 billion AU dollars (almost 10.82 billion U.S. dollars) in the Murray Darling Basin to ensure healthy rivers, strong communities and sustainable food and fibre production for current and future generations.
