Temporary weir proposed for Murray River
A temporary weir in the Murray River in South Australia is among a number of proposals outlined by the Federal Government to address Australia’s water crisis.
The plan is contained in a report from last year’s emergency water summit.
If the drought continues and if the South Australian Government agrees, the weir would be built near Wellington on the Murray River.
Detailing the proposal today, Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile also announced plans to lower target, end of season reserves in Lake Victoria and reduce minimum flow targets and early pumping to build reserves in Mount Lofty storages in South Australia.
The Federal Government has struck an agreement with Victoria and South Australia on five measures to ensure towns in the southern Murray Darling Basin system will continue to have urban water supplies.
It expects the New South Wales Government will also come on board.
Mr Vaile says the states have agreed to reduce water loss from river systems and disconnect some wetlands that are flooded from the Murray Darling Basin system.
“We’re proposing disconnecting selected permanent wetlands that are inundated under regulated low flows from the system, while these extreme circumstance exist,” he said.
A final decision on whether to build the weir will be made next month.
Mr Vaile says under the agreement reached so far, the states and the Murray Darling Basin Commission will adjust operations of their river systems to improve flexibility and minimise losses.
“They’re measures that send a clear message to the community that we take the interest of the community, and the people that need those essential supplies of water, as our primary concern,” he said.
“That we’re prepared to curtail other measures such as providing flows into some of those wetland areas that are not absolutely necessary to ensure that water is available to those communities.”
The contingency plans were put together in case this year is as hot and dry as 2006.
Mr Vaile stressed these are all contingency plans that can be modified or indeed abandoned if the situation changes.
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