Welcome to the Murray-Darling Basin monthly e-letter with reports of happenings across the Basin.

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(See also The Living Murray website at http://www.thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au)

In this issue:

1. Basin salinity initiatives to be highlighted at Water Summit
2. $93m water recovery package kicks off Living Murray
3. $15m to stop salt entering the Murray
4. River Murray weir pool levels returning to normal
5. SA appoints new independent MDBC Commissioner
6. "National Wetlands Update 2006" released
7. Alliance formed to control Boxthorn in the Murray Catchment
8. Development gateway site covers water, agriculture
9. Lachlan Catchment sees benefits of new flume
10. Maize conference to be held at Griffith
11. Extension conference promises "rich diversity"

Basin salinity initiatives to be highlighted at Water Summit

Dr Craik will outline the wide range of projects already under way and how the Commission has agreed to tackle salinity challenges into the future.

The summit, to be held in Melbourne on 21-24 February, brings together stakeholders in the Australian water industry and a number of international figures in water policy and management.

The 2006 theme is "Collaborating on Our Water Future".  Presentations will cover a wide range of water issues, including: sustainability, new initiatives and innovations, funding, investment opportunities, water trading, pricing, and infrastructure.

Organisers say the summit seeks to link policy and decision making with practice and science in the search for sustainable, national water solutions.

The opening address will be given by Ken Matthews, Chief Executive Officer of the National Water Commission.

The summit will also be held in Sydney in March.

For more information go to: www.australianwatersummit.com.au/index
 

$93m water recovery package kicks off Living Murray

The Australian Ministers for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran, and Environment and Heritage, Ian Campbell, and the Victorian Environment and Water Minister, John Thwaites, said the $93 million package would not only benefit some of the river's premier sites, but also Victoria's Goulburn, Loddon and Campaspe rivers.

Mr McGauran, Chairman of the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council, said The Living Murray was a joint, $500 million initiative of the Australian, Victorian, NSW, South Australian and ACT governments.

Mr Thwaites said he was delighted that the first Living Murray project to be funded by the Commonwealth was in Victoria.

"Victoria is well advanced in achieving its commitment of 214 gigalitres to the Living Murray Initiative," Mr Thwaites said.

The Australian Government will contribute $37.2 million to the project and the Victorian Government at between $21.4 million and $43.7 million, depending on whether NSW and SA, which have expressed interest in the project, decide to contribute.

Mr Campbell said the project has the potential to benefit some of the river's most iconic sites.

"They include: the Hattah Lakes, the Barmah-Millewa Forest, the Chowilla Floodplain (including Lindsay-Wallpolla), the Gunbower-Koondrook Perricoota Forest, the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth, and the River Murray Channel."

Mr McGauran said that, as well as contributing to the Living Murray iconic sites, the Goulburn Murray Recovery Project would provide important environmental benefits to Victoria , particularly to the Goulburn, Loddon and Campaspe Rivers .

To read the complete media release go to www.maff.gov.au/releases/06/06002pmj.html

For more information on the Living Murray Initiative go to http://thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au/
 

$15m to stop salt entering the Murray

The South Australian Government announced in January that it had committed up to $15 million for the construction of the scheme.

Announcing the initiative, SA Minister for the River Murray, Karlene Maywald said the Murtho scheme would prevent large amounts of salt from entering the River Murray, providing significant benefits to the River, its floodplain and irrigation in the area.

"Without this infrastructure river salinity in this area will increase sharply over the next 30 years.

"If allowed to occur, this increase in salinity would also cause major damage to the RAMSAR listed floodplain, which is already showing signs of salinisation.

"This initial funding will allow work on the Murtho project to begin while negotiations to fund the remainder of this scheme are held with the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and local irrigators."

Salt interception schemes intercept and pump saline groundwater to disposal basins and most are located in the Mallee zones of NSW, Victoria and South Australia , from Albury to Morgan.

In South Australia , operational schemes are in place at Waikerie and Woolpunda, with  new schemes under construction at Bookpurnong (almost complete) and Loxton.

For more information about salt interception schemes in South Australia contact the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation on (08) 8463 6800, or visit www.dwlbc.sa.gov.au

For more information on salt interception schemes generally go to www.mdbc.gov.au
 

River Murray weir pool levels returning to normal

However, he said further drawdowns would be necessary if severe weather conditions were again experienced this season.

"Flow rates along the River Murray between Torrumbarry and Wentworth Weirs have increased in response to the coordinated actions of water agencies early in January," he said.

"We called on additional flows from water trade accounts in the Goulburn and Murrumbidgee systems to supplement flows in the Murray which remain at channel capacity through the Barmah Choke. In addition, Goulburn-Murray Water has been very cooperative in its operation of the Torrumbarry System which has helped sustain flows to the mid Murray .

"The higher flows are being used to refill Euston, Mildura and Wentworth Weir pools after they were partially drawn down to help maintain flow downstream of Wentworth Weir, which fell as low as 800 ML/day, but which is now rising," he said.

For more information and to read the latest River Murray statements go to www.mdbc.gov.au/rmw
 

SA appoints new independent MDBC Commissioner

Minister for the River Murray Karlene Maywald said that, by appointing John Scanlon, SA was raising the bar for leadership on tackling the challenges confronting the Murray-Darling Basin .

"John Scanlon will be an outstanding advocate for the River. He is one of our nation's leading environmental law and policy experts and has extensive experience in sustainable development and water management at a state, federal and international level," Ms Maywald said.

"John is the first Commissioner to be appointed from outside government and he'll be free to focus on and fearlessly pursue what's best for the River Murray.

"His experience and energy will help the Murray-Darling Basin Commission and ensure that the Basin's management rather than state issues influence the Commission's activities.

"We believe Mr Scanlon's autonomous status will lead to him being considered as an important independent contributor," Ms Maywald says.

Ms Maywald said the appointment of an independent expert was first recommended by a South Australian Parliamentary Committee on the River Murray, and was also recommended by SA Thinker in Residence and eminent water scientist Professor Peter Cullen.

Professor Cullen lauded the adoption of his recommendation as a far-sighted and important first step in reshaping the governance of the Commission.

"Scanlon's depth of international and national experience in water policy, law and governance will be of great value to the Commission and will help drive a new era of reform and implementation," says Prof. Cullen.

For more information and to read the complete media release go to http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/minister.asp?mId=17&pId=6&iHealth=0&sId=5981
 

'National Wetlands Update 2006' released

Now in its 14th edition, the  annual publication by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH),  contains more than 25 articles, with most states and territories contributing items.

This year's edition includes Murray-Darling Basin Commission articles on environmental water allocation and the Living Murray and on watering at the Hattah Lakes.

The publication is distributed to organisations around Australia with an interest in wetlands and is available online at the DEH website. It includes contact details to encourage readers to network on projects that are of interest to them.

For more information go to:   http://www.deh.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/wa13/index.html
 

Alliance formed to control Boxthorn in the Murray Catchment

Recognising the social, economic and environmental impact that weeds have on the community, the Murray Catchment Management Authority will lead this campaign with the Shires of Jerilderie, Conargo, Wakool and the Central Murray County Council.

Over recent years, the presence of African Boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum) across the area has increased significantly.

Worsening infestations threaten the health of many vegetation communities and compromise landholders' conservation and productivity improvement efforts.

The project is a pilot initiative of the Murray CMA and will be assessed as an approach to enhancing native vegetation and biodiversity on farmlands.

Importantly, the project will be based on working with landholders to help control the spread of African Boxthorn within native vegetation communities to promote site regeneration and biodiversity.

For more information contact the Murray CMA Implementation Officers Gary Smethurst 03 5885 2804 at Berrigan, or Josh Ellis 03 5457 9191 at Wakool.
 

Development gateway site covers water, agriculture and more

Funded by AusAID, the Australian Government's aid agency, the ADG is a knowledge-sharing website supporting people and organisations working in aid and development activities abroad.

The site provides links to over 1,300 resources, covering seven themes - water, agriculture, disaster management, information and communication technology, education, governance, and health.

The ADG also features upcoming events, directories of people and organisations, vacancy and tender ads, discussion forums, and profiles of aid activities.

Since its launch in 2004, the ADG has rapidly established itself as the principal source of development knowledge in the Asia Pacific region, drawing over 20,000 monthly visitors.

Despite its obvious international focus, Content Manager Warin Nitipaisalkul points out that Australia's own experiences, particularly in natural resource management, are in fact highly valued by the aid and development community.

"It's a fact that reflective learning is vital to good development practice, and Australia has learned so much from our own successes and failures in sustainable management of land and water resources," said Warin.

"Initiatives like the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Healthy Waterways in Queensland and Waterwatch are seen worldwide as 'best practice', and this is reflected in the interest for their resources on the ADG.

"This knowledge makes a real and important contribution to the work of aid and development organisations, and we're always looking for more."

For more information, contact: Warin Nitipaisalkul - wnitipaisalkul@hassall.com.au or visit the Australian Development Gateway - www.developmentgateway.com.au
 

Lachlan Catchment sees benefits of new flume

Lachlan Valley rises near Yass and Gunning and terminates in the Great Cumbung Swamp near Oxley.

At "Carthona", near Grenfell, landholders Graham, Jeanette and son Robert Grimm have a new large concrete flume to arrest significant deposits of sediment and nutrient loads in the Tyagong Creek.

The flume is a 4.6m high concrete structure that moves water safely from one level to another. Water travels down a 2.5 to 1 mt chute into a stilling pond which dissipates the energy of the falling water and releases it over the outlet at a non-scouring velocity. Downstream, this means less sediment, better water flows and improved aquatic habitat.

Construction was funded in the Lachlan CMA's first round of incentive grants. The third round of grants has just opened and is boosted by Federal funding of the 2004-2007 Investment Strategy which will deliver $10 Million to the Lachlan Catchment in 2006 alone.

Lachlan CMA Chairman Mr Rob Gledhill said "Lachlan CMA works with landholders to develop and manage projects that address key Catchment issues".

"Already this financial year we have approved regionally managed on-ground projects worth more than 8 million dollars."

He said the Lachlan CMA looked forward to working with local Federal and State Members in developing resource management in regional communities under their key programs of Land, Vegetation and Water Quality Management. Funding managed by Lachlan CMA is jointly provided by the Australian and NSW State Governments to support natural resource management projects of direct benefit to the Lachlan Catchment.

For more information on the Lachlan CMA, its programs and funding opportunities go to www.lachlan.cma.nsw.gov.au
 

Maize conference to be held at Griffith

Bob Douglas, Director Water Policy Direction, at the Murray Basin Water Commission will speak on sharing water between the environment and irrigation.

Held every three years in a maize production area, the conference is the main technical update and networking opportunity for the industry.

The aim of the conference this year is to provide a forum for the interchange of maize industry ideas, knowledge and innovation.

This year's event will cover topics such as: GMOs, climate change, agronomy, silage, allelopathy, water and biofuels.

The conference this year will include a field day visiting some of the diverse maize growing systems in the Riverina.

For more information and to register, go to www.maizeaustralia.com.au
 

Extension conference promises 'rich diversity'

Speakers and participants will come from agriculture, community development, health, natural resource and environmental management and fire management.

Extension involves the use of communication and adult education processes to help people and communities identify potential changes to their practices, and then provide them with the skills and resources to effect these improvements.

The theme for this year's event is "Footprints, Pathways and Possibilities" and aims to study the blend of scientific rigour with the art of participants' diverse professions.

Organisers say the conference will be an opportunity to reflect on the methods, learning and outcomes of projects, clarify the emergent theories, models and processes underpinning practice, and energise future possibilities for practice change and extension with new thinking and direction.

Speakers, who will "provoke, inform and engage" include:

• Kate Andrews - Knowledge and Adoption Manager, Land and Water Australia;
• Dr Ian Plowman - Psychologist, Facilitator and Social Researcher;
• John Connell- Development Worker, Laos; and
• Professor Stuart Hill - Foundation Chair of Social Ecology & Head of Program, School of Education , University of Western Sydney .

For more information go to www.apen.org.au/events/2006conf/
 

ends