ANOTHER warning shot for our region was fired during the week with the pressure on our river systems and risk of water shortfalls for our irrigation industries again outlined.
The warning, from Dr Ben Dyer of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, that our region could face a risk of water shortfall due to the growth in permanent plantings, combined with climate change, should be a cause of concern.
We have seen a huge growth in demand for water over the past couple of decades, putting huge pressure on our river systems.
According to Victorian Government figures, there were 66,515 hectares of irrigated crops in the Mallee. The dominant crop was almonds with 25,695ha, of which 6400ha was considered immature.
In their first year, almond crops require 1-2.5 megalitres of water per hectare per year, which increases yearly to 12-14ML per hectare for mature, eight-year old crops.
The growth in almond crops has slowed since 2016, with only 15ha planted last year.
It has been reported that citrus plantings in Sunraysia had increased by 25 per cent in 2020, while table and wine grape crops had also been growing.
The issue of water availability is a hard one for many people to comprehend. After all, for the vast majority of us, we turn on the tap and water comes out.
But we just have to look at what many communities along the Darling-Barka River have gone through in the past few years to understand how dire things can be when the river runs dry.
We know the impacts of climate change are leading to longer and more severe droughts, which means we need transparent and robust regulation of our river systems that balances environmental and human use.
A healthy, connected Darling-Barka is critical and for far too long corruption, poor management and politics have taken precedence – at the expense of the needs of the environment and communities, particularly in the southern basin.
In response to my question on notice last month, it was pleasing to hear Victorian Acting Water Minister Richard Wynne say: “There are historic issues in the northern basin around water management, compliance, floodplain harvesting and metering practices, and a lack of transparency. This government will continue to strongly represent Victorian interests in these matters through the Basin Ministerial Council. There needs to be strong rules in place around floodplain harvesting and these rules need to be enforced.”
I will be doing everything possible to ensure the Victorian Government keeps pressure on the NSW Government to implement and enforce regulations in the northern basin that are beneficial to the entire system.
It is in all of our interests for this to happen.
