Just this month, an impressive range of people across the basin have contributed their expertise and passion at different levels. Whether it's discussions with Murrumbidgee and Goulburn landholders and traditional owners near Albury, or irrigator meetings at Moree and on the Gwydir about the Northern Basin Review, the involvement of people across the basin is central to our work.
In recent weeks, I've visited parts of the Macquarie with farmers and environmental water managers. I've also met with horticultural leaders in Mildura and Renmark and I'm looking forward to the gathering of the MDBA's community advisers at Goolwa.
A lot of people are very interested in the next set of milestones we're working towards. They include an opportunity next year to reduce the 2750 gigalitres of water recovery through projects put forward by the basin states, while still achieving good environmental outcomes. At the same time, water ministers will be deciding how best to progress and fund local work on constraints to environmental watering. There's also the prospect of revising some of the settings in the Basin Plan following the review in the Northern Basin.
I'm aware that some areas of the basin are feeling the stress of economic, climatic and policy changes that have occurred over recent decades. We know that some areas are more vulnerable than others. We've been looking at what drove those past changes to help us better understand how communities are responding to the more recent water reforms.
It's also been useful to pick up the different threads running in the senate inquiry into the Basin Plan. The MDBA's submission is publicly available and we'll continue to provide information to the committee as needed.
I'm very conscious that dry times are continuing in the north and have now arrived in the southern basin, creating a new set of challenges. Low water storages on the Murray after a very dry winter mean the states are carefully managing their reserves. We've also been watching the temporary water markets and how they respond to the states' allocations—the two are strongly linked.
It is apparent to me, though, that water reform in the past 15 years, including the Basin Plan, has helped us prepare for drier conditions. It means we're in a much better position than we were at the start of the millennium drought, and it's important we continue to talk and share understanding across the basin.
Finally, I'm pleased to say we've been warmly welcomed by the agriculture portfolio in our recent move from environment. This step has provided further reassurance to people in regional communities that our work considers the triple-bottom line.
I look forward to meeting up again in the coming months.