The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is set to announce the findings that will detail how much water must be allocated to the Murray to preserve the health of the water system.

 

MDBA Chairman Craig Knowles will brief irrigators, environmentalists and other agriculturalists on the details of the findings. It’s believed that the MDBA could increase the environmental flow by up to 2,800 gigalitres after the Federal Water Minister Tony Burke revealed plans that insist on an extra 2,000 litres being diverted to the Murray’s mouth in South Australia.

 

Mr Burke delivered a speech to the Sydney Institute that outlined policy that required the Murray’s mouth to be open 9 out of 10 years, which MDBA research shows would require a minimum of 2,000 litres of environmental flow per year.

 

Although speculation is rife that the amount of water that will be required for environmental flows is set to increase, the MDBA recently downgraded its minimal requirements from 3,000 gigalitres per year after new research modelling became available that indicated such a quantity was unnecessary.

 

Mr Knowles is likely to use the Federal Government’s $3.1 billion water buyback scheme as well as the $5.8 billion irrigation infrastructure programs to placate the states into accepting environmental flow requirements.