22 April 2003 - River Murray closure threat; by Terry Plane & Andrew McGarry:
A HUGE deposit of sand dumped by a king tide on the western reach of the Murray mouth threatens to close the river this week, in spite of six months of dredging aimed at keeping it open. South Australian Environment Minister John Hill described the condition of the river mouth as "desperate", and said it looked as though dredging would not keep the mouth open. 
"I had a report last week that things were looking good," Mr Hill said. "Then a king tide pulled a whole lot of sand in and now we're facing blockage again. Things are pretty desperate." 
Yesterday, only a few narrow ribbons of water were running through built-up sand, and in places the river's skeleton lay exposed, its bed bare. Metres away, churning Southern Ocean surf pounded the shore under a vast sea mist. 
"We had seen pictures; I expected something stronger, but there's just a trickle," said Brad Eyles, a visitor from Adelaide. 
Mr Hill said, the state of the mouth highlighted the need for a quick decision on extra water flow down the river. 
The Murray-Darling Basin ministerial council is to decide in October on extra flow, after it receives a key technical report on the viability and effects of an extra 350 gigalitres a year, 750gl or 1500gl. 
Additional flows were expected to be generated by a combination of upstream diversions and savings through irrigation reductions. 
The South Australian and Victorian governments oppose a push to delay the decision. 
A Murray-Darling Basin Commission community advisory committee forum in Melbourne has called for the October decision to be delayed by 12 months, citing lack of information about water sharing and the scheduled August publication of the technical report. 
"People are not saying there shouldn't be change," said advisory committee chairwoman Leith Boully, a Queensland cotton grower. "They're saying they don't have enough information yet. It's not just a simple decision that relates to flow. There needs to be a whole cultural change up and down the river. No matter how much water we put into the river, we're not going to get maximum benefits if we don't manage water usage better." 
Ms Boully said authorities planning changes to improve the river's health had to "cover off on social and economic issues" as well as water flow. 
"How we share the water is really important," she said. 
"It's not just volume. Where does it come from? There are some real trade-offs to be made. 
"Unless you understand the river from someone else's point of view, you're never going to give anything up." 
Mr Hill said there would be "absolutely no delay" on the October decision. He agreed there could be a lack of information about the effects of increased flow among irrigation communities, and said the May meeting of the Murray-Darling ministerial council would consider allocating extra resources for dissemination of data.

07 May 2003 -  The Guardian - extract from article by Bob Briton:
... Speaking about the River Murray at an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Adelaide last week, SA Environment Minister John Hill said the $2 million dredging program was having difficulties and that it might have to continue on a "semi-permanent basis".
The dredging work has been plagued with problems since its inception. In January an excavator sank and became wedged in the sands of the Murray Mouth. Last month, a huge deposit of sand was dumped by a king tide on the western reach of the outlet, undoing much of the six-month's worth of dredging work.
The setbacks have forced the SA Government to consider spending an extra $1.1 million on a second excavator to assist in what appears to be a futile task.
However, the biggest problem facing efforts to keep the sea end of the Murray clear is the same one that is threatening the general health of the river: the declining flows through the system caused by irresponsible water management practices upstream.
Lack of water has meant that, while dredging has kept the Murray Mouth open to the entry of seawater over the summer, no water has flowed the other way for 17 months and predictions are that there is a more than 50 percent chance that there will be no flow before 2004.
Crunch time for decisions about land use and water management has been brought forward by the effects of the drought.
SA Premier Mike Rann recently pointed out that scientists used to warn that Murray water would be undrinkable most of the year within the next two decades if salinity levels continued to rise.
This is now a reality for the 275 km stretch between Blanchetown (northeast of Adelaide) to the Murray Mouth. At Clayton, salinity levels of 1500 ECs (electrical conductivity units) have been recorded, which are almost double the safe drinking level of 800 ECs.
Water levels in Lake Alexandrina have dropped to as low as half a metre and more than a centimetre a day is being lost through evaporation.
While some commentators, like Opposition River Murray spokesman Mark Brindal, have called for water restrictions to be imposed on Adelaide residents, most agree that this would have only a marginal effect on the problem.
Overwhelmingly, the crisis is due to the irrigation practices of agribusiness along the length of the river system - by users such as the rice and cotton industries.
Despite the increased efficiency of water use by most rice growers, the network urgently needs significantly increased flows.
Mike Rann will use the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in October to push for 1500 gigalitres of water to be restored to the system annually.
The SA Premier is accusing the governments of neighbouring states and the Commonwealth of dragging the chain on the issue.
In last week's announcements, Simon Crean committed a Federal Labor government to the immediate restoration of 450 gigalitres to the River Murray and the return of 1500 gigalitres to the system over a ten-year period... .

10 Nov 2003 - - Dredging saves Murray; 10/11/03, page 7: 
(Ed; - dredging of the mouth hasn't "SAVED" the Murray, what it has done is saved the Coorong from environmental catastrophe.)
A 12-month dredging operation to help keep the Murray mouth open has removed one million cubic metres of sand, South Australian Environment Minister, John Hill, says. The river mouth is now in the best condition it has been for more than two years and without the dredging operation it would have closed over completely, he said. That would have caused significant damage by preventing the movement of fish between the river and the sea for breeding and by artificially increasing the level and temperatures of water in the Coorong..
Mr Hill said the operation has been assisted by recent good rainfalls in the Murray-Darling basin; this allowed for the release of 200 gigalitres of water through the Goolwa barrages which were opened for six weeks in September and October. Dredging will continue, however, until at least October 2004 or until there are sufficient flows down the river to keep the mouth open.

21 July 2004 - ANOTHER $9 MILLION FOR DREDGING MURRAY MOUTH 

Hon JOHN HILL MP

Funding has been approved to continue the award-winning dredging operation at the mouth of the River Murray until up to October 2005.  

Minister for the River Murray John Hill said the decision to allocate a further $9 million to keep the project going is part of a commitment from all Murray-Darling basin Governments to keep the Murray Mouth open at all costs.

"The mouth must be kept open artificially to help preserve the health of the River Murray and the Coorong Wetlands while we wait for increased environmental flows,” the Minister said - “I hope it won’t be necessary to continue dredging until October 2005, but under current conditions the Murray Mouth would close if it weren’t for the two dredges, and that would harm the health of the river and the Coorong by preventing the exchange of water between the River and the sea.  We need significant additional environmental flows before the mouth can be kept open without dredging and while extra water is coming, thanks to the $500 million ‘first step’ agreement signed at COAG last month, a lot more water will be needed to keep it open naturally."
 
So far the dredging program has removed nearly 2 million cubic metres of sand from the Murray Mouth since it commenced in October 2002. 
 
The funding allocated to this project represents a significant investment by the South Australian, Victorian, New South Wales and Australian Governments which pay for the project through the Murray-Darling Basin Commission. 
 
The South Australian Government is supporting and helping to fund a range of projects to help save the River Murray with a total of $233 million allocated to the river over four years included in the 2004/05 State Budget.

 Close this Window   ~~   Return to Top