Warning to upstream states as River Murray rises
As a rising River Murray begins to impact SA communities along its banks, Deputy Premier Susan Close says she will fight for the state’s full allocation of environmental water flows at a national meeting later this week.
Water slowly rises at Loxton. Pic: David Beaton
Water is now inundating parts of Loxton caravan park in the Riverland, closing roads to shacks around Mannum and making boat ramps, park furniture and public facilities inaccessible as towns brace for more than 75 gigalitres a day flows around Friday this week.
“Water has been steadily rising which is good, everything is looking healthy,” Loxton Waikerie chief executive officer David Beaton said, adding that some infrastructure has been disconnected in readiness.
“It’s a high river event but nothing in that is out of the realms of our historic past, but if it keeps raining in the eastern states that could affect everyone in the basin.”
Latest Flow Report figures from the Environment and Water Department forecast the flow to SA increasing, and that it could “exceed 75 GL/d around 14 October and reach 80 GL/day in late October. It is then expected that the flow to SA will remain in the vicinity of 80 GL/day for most of November 2022 before receding.”
Despite the high water levels, Minister Close is ready for a bunfight in Canberra on Wednesday as she takes on states including New South Wales and Victoria at the first Murray Darling Basin Plan ministers meeting since the new Albanese Government was elected.
Dr Close said reports showed upstream states have failed to achieve promised water savings targets under the plan and this leaves South Australia vulnerable to future droughts.
She plans to formally withdraw the former Marshall Liberal government’s support for socio-economic criteria agreed to in 2018, that means states can argue against water savings if it is deemed they may have a negative impact on river communities.
High water along the River Murray closed this road in Loxton, submerging Snake Island and its connecting bridge in the background. Pic: David Beaton
Dr Close claims the new criteria is continually blocking the promised 450 GL of environmental water under the plan, criteria described by the Murray Darling Basic Royal Commission as a ‘capitulation’.
She intends also calling for formal acknowledgement of the Federal Government’s commitment to recovering the final 450 GL of environmental water required under the plan by 2024.
And Dr Close will call for the immediate recommencement of water recovery against all outstanding Basin Plan targets and for new measures to be considered including recovering the water using voluntary water buy backs.
“I am putting the eastern states on notice,” Dr Close said today, adding that “South Australia will not settle for anything less than the full 450 GL promised to us, regardless of how it’s achieved.”
Park benches surrounded by high water levels in Loxton. Pic: Beth Huppatz
