Soooooo, how's this weather?

[CENTURION]

But south Australia also restricts the natural flow.

if we didn't have locks & weirs, there would be NO water in the river in South Australia, in 2007 the only reason we had ANY water (which almost turned to green algae) was due to the virtual damming of the water. The dry lakebeds in Lake Alexandrina & Albert turned acidic the river was very close to dying.

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

does anyone know what it costs per annum to have the dredges continually running at The Murray Mouth?

The dredges ran 24 hours per day for 8 years between 2002 and 2010 at a cost of between $4 Million to $5 Million per annum.
http://www.waterforgood.sa.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/fs23_sandpumping.pdf

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

But south Australia also restricts the natural flow.

if we didn't have locks & weirs, there would be NO water in the river in South Australia, in 2007 the only reason we had ANY water (which almost turned to green algae) was due to the virtual damming of the water. The dry lakebeds in Lake Alexandrina & Albert turned acidic the river was very close to dying.

Spot on, the Locks enabled SA to maintain some water in the main channel from 2007 to 2010. Also, many of the wetlands that fringe the main channel of the Murray were temporarily blocked by earth banks in an attempt to keep as much water in the main channel as possible. There still wasn't enough with sections of the main channel below Blanchtown so shallow you could walk across the River and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert water levels falling below sea level where normally they would sit at around 0.75 metres above sea level. Highly acidic soils on exposed lake beds and saline water from the lack of flow, river bank collapses in the lower Murray reaches, wetlands drying out and turning acidic, levee banks cracking and failing, prime floodplain farming country dried out and was decimated through salinity and acidity, the South lagoon of the Coorong went 5 times more saline than sea water, and the severe ecological impacts that these unprecedented conditions created were all the consequences of insufficient flow to keep the River alive. The economic impacts were disastrous for farming (many of the Dairies on lake Albert shut down permanently, viticulture around Langhorne Creek and Currency Creek all but ceased, and the jobless rate skyrocketed, many people left the area creating an economic void in affected towns and communities) There were a number of health issues that this created also, both physical and mental and these impacts were strongly felt throughout the Lower Murray Communities. Things were desperate to say the least as all of a suden we were in the middle of an economic, social and environmental disaster with no control over the cause. Very scary times that we certainly do not want to see again, not just in SA, but anywhere in Australia.

In some ways this was the wake up call we needed, it had been coming since 1981 when for the first time in recorded history, the Murray Mouth closed. We need to take this experience and use it to rectify the situation with the Murray. It is easy to sit back now and squabble over who's water is who's as it really doesn't matter at the moment - there is plenty to go round. But should the situation that unfolded here between 2007 and 2010 arise again, in SA or somewhere else, and we had an opportunity to avoid it or at least minimise the impacts as we now do through the Basin Plan, and that opportunity wasn't taken, I would suggest that we as a nation were either ignorent, foolish, or just plain stupid. We cannot afford for that to happen again - anywhere.

[CENTURION]

so why didn't the SA government buy Cubbie Station?
Also, why build a desal plant & not use it, only until the situation is dire again? why not use SOME river water & SOME desal water?

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

good questions which I don't know the answers to but have my suspicions. I suspect however that the Desal Plant has been sidelined for political reasons ie: due to the increased cost of water supply to the household. Desal plants use alot of electricity to produce fresh water, the costs of producing the water would be passed onto the consumer which is not in a political party's best interest come election time. A Government could however put some spin on these additional costs during a drought as 'no other option' and 'we are creating water where we have none, securing the livelihoods of South Australian families and business'

Re Cubbie: again I'm not sure but I suspect they don't want to enter the water market as this then sets a precedent for the other states to do so. Usually water licence and allocation buy back is undertaken by the Commonwealth Govt. and held in a pool (excuse the pun) for allocation to areas within the Basin that need it. This allows for a fair and objective assessment of all areas across the MDB to ensure that water gets to where it is most needed. Also, only about 10% of the water originating in QLD reaches the SA Border so it would have been a very expensive purchase for very little water return to SA. The SA Govt. probably couldn't have afforded it anyway.

The real question is why didn't the Commonwealth buy Cubbie? I think it might be too big to buy out in one hit and retire. Cubbie supports a whole community and the last thing the Feds want to do with their water buy back is destroy communities. Again - political suicide and not the best way to get support for the Basin Plan across rural Australia. The Feds generally opt to buy back smaller volumes across a wide range of locations so the economic impacts are minimal and not centered on one town or district.

[CENTURION]

as you stated before, droughts destroy communities as well. Forever.

[CENTURION]

So Roxy, you seem rather well versed on this matter which means a lot to me, what would YOU do to waterproof South Australia & bring the health back to The Murray/Darling river system?

[Booney]

So Roxy, you seem rather well versed on this matter which means a lot to me, what would YOU do to waterproof South Australia & bring the health back to The Murray/Darling river system?

Is Roxy actually Karlene Maywald? Wheres DW.....

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

I wish I was Karlene Maywald, she's hot

The health of the MDB is dependant upon returning environmental flows as per the Basin Plan. This is a critical first step. There is also alot of work going on at present to save water ie: lining and piping open irrigation channels to stop seepage and evaporation, changing to drip and subsurface irrigation in districts where this hasn't been widely adopted, water buy back etc. A number of works are also being undertaken to manage water movement into and out of wetlands along the river. In this way water can be let into a wetland for a set period of time then released back to the river sao that we get multiple uses from the water. I think the MDB will be in alot better shape in a decade.

To water proof Adelaide (a very grand statement in itself) I would definately focus efforts on stormwater capture, treatment and reuse, greater treatment and reuse of effluant water, the Desal plant to supply minimal volumes and to be used as a back up in the event of drought and maintain and better manage the Adelaide metro reservoirs. Adelaide will still need to draw from the River Murray but this will be far less than at present.

[CENTURION]

The Desal. plant needs to be operating, no point in waiting until a drought, too late then.

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

I understand that it is operating at minimal capacity to run it in and keep it functional. As soon as it operates at full tilt the price of water will go up due to the production costs - mostly the electricity required. I guess it then becomes up to the voters to decide if they are happy to pay more for water.

[therisingblues]

How much of an increase to the average water bill would desal require?
I wonder if the electricity required could be managed by solar?

[therisingblues]

I had another idea for providing us with water. I think of it as "The Hundred Year Plan". It involved digging a wide river from near Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges. We then dump all the Earth from our river on top of the Flinders, making them really big. We can also landscape them into valleys and reservoirs so we can collect as much water from them as possible. With the extra rain these mountains will produce we can kiss our water shortage goodbye.
We'll need 100 years or a group of benevolent giants to build it.

[CENTURION]

you idiot

[CENTURION]

we need to offset the cost of dredging the Murray Mouth against the cost of the desal plant.

[Bully]

another 200mm predicted to fall in SEQLD over the next 3 days.

[CENTURION]

and even more in NSW! wasted, pouring out to sea. The Warragamba dam is now over-flowing. SURELY the control of flood waters can be better managed than they are at the moment!
Furthermore, the QLD government is now looking at ways to reduce/stop the flow of water into Lake Eyre!

[The Sleeping Giant]

Do you want me to send you a couple of bottles of water down?

[CENTURION]

Do you same to send you a couple of bottles of water down?

no, send beer!

[Bully]

and even more in NSW! wasted, pouring out to sea. The Warragamba dam is now over-flowing. SURELY the control of flood waters can be better managed than they are at the moment!
Furthermore, the QLD government is now looking at ways to reduce/stop the flow of water into Lake Eyre!

again, remind me of what happens to the water that is "wasted" (your words) when it falls in South australia?. My Auntie told me she had 30mm of rain in the barossa last week, what did you do with that water, as an example? Seen as you seem to be quick in telling other states what they should do with that water that falls on their ground? Yet you (SA, not you personally) cant come with a solution to the same situation in the state that is complaining??

What does your government plan to do with the water that is a run off for the rain that is falling in the state today 25/2/13?

waiting for your reply........................ , but i am sure you will continue to blame other states for it, yet cant come up with a solution for the same problem in SA.....hmmmmmm