What is the future for the Lower Lakes?

Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert provide important habitat for biota within the Murray-Darling Basin. The current drought has highlighted the over-allocation of water resources in the Murray-Darling Basin, with water levels falling dramatically in the Lower Lakes to unprecedented levels. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in salinity, the exposure of acid sulfate soils and the loss of habitat for many freshwater plants and animals. In this presentation, Kane will examine what is known about the natural water regime and ecology of the Lower Lakes and the current management of the region. This information will be used with predictions of water availability in the Murray-Darling Basin to explore how the lakes may be managed in the future to provide a resilient ecosystem that is able to cope with variability in flow and climatic conditions. Kane is a Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Adelaide.