Maintaining a health working River Murray to provide water security

Ms Robyn McLeod
Commissioner for Water Security
(Robyn was unable to present due to ill-health)
Presented by Prof Mike Young

On Robyn's behalf, Mike presented an outline of the new Water Security Plan. It includes goals to increase the mix of water sources and to reduce reliance on the River Murray, thus allowing more water to remain in the River. The aim is to reduce annual extractions from the River Murray by 22 GL by 2025. The Plan includes provision for continuous review and much more adaptive approaches to water allocation. Triggers will be set for faster responses to changing circumstances, and water planning will become independent of the political framework. Within 5 years, all users will pay one price for water used, so that users have the same signal and incentives for reducing demand.