Basin Salinity Management 2030 – strategies and reports

These basin salinity management (BSM) procedures replace the BSMS Operation Protocols. They have been prepared to provide the necessary detail to support salinity management practitioners involved in the implementation of the BSM2030 strategy.

This document includes an overview of modelling in the context of the salinity accountability framework, followed by procedures set out in 3 parts: Part 1: Procedures at the core of the BSM modelling framework. Part 2: Procedures applicable to all models that support salinity accountability. Part 3: Procedures applicable to specific types of models.

Under the BSM2030 strategy, Basin governments committed to the coordinated review of in-river elevated salinity events. This report identifies the cause, impacts, effectiveness of management responses, outcomes and achievements following the lower Darling elevated salinity event in March–April 2020.

This strategy, Basin salinity management 2030 (BSM2030), builds on the successes of the Basin Salinity Management Strategy (2001-2015) to deliver a strategic, cost-efficient and streamlined program of coordinated salinity management for the next 15 years.

This is the fourth comprehensive report prepared by the MDBA under the BSM2030 strategy highlighting progress in implementing basin‐wide salinity management. The report provides an overview of outcomes and achievements against the key elements of the BSM2030 strategy and includes the executive summaries from the report prepared by each of the Basin States and the Australian Government.

This report highlights the status of salinity in the Murray–Darling Basin during 2021–22. It also identifies the key outcomes and achievements from 2021–22. Errata: This report have been updated. Changes were made to Figure 3 to reflect more recent data and is correct as at September 2023.

Under the BSM2030 strategy, every second year the MDBA is required to prepare a BSM2030 status report. This is the fourth BSM2030 status report prepared by the MDBA, providing an update on strategy implementation.

This is the third comprehensive report prepared by the MDBA under the BSM2030 strategy highlighting progress in implementing basin-wide salinity management. The report provides an overview of outcomes and achievements against the key elements of the BSM2030 strategy and includes the executive summaries from the report prepared by each of the Basin States and the Australian Government. 

This report highlights the status of salinity in the Murray–Darling Basin during 2019–20. It also identifies the key outcomes and achievements from 2019–20. Errata: This report has been updated. Changes were made to Figure 3 to reflect more recent data and is correct as at September 2023.

Under the BSM2030 strategy, every second year the MDBA is required to prepare a BSM2030 status report. This is the third BSM2030 status report prepared by the MDBA, providing an update on strategy implementation.

This is the second comprehensive report prepared by the MDBA under the BSM2030 strategy highlighting progress in implementing basin-wide salinity management. The report provides an overview of outcomes and achievements against the key elements of the BSM2030 strategy and includes the executive summaries from the report prepared by each of the Basin States and the Australian Government.

Under the BSM2030 strategy, every second year the MDBA convenes a Basin salinity forum. The Basin Salinity Forum overview report includes a summary of each presentation provided at the forum, the key points raised during the emerging issues panel discussion, and a list of workshop attendees. The PowerPoint slides from each presentation are included as an appendix to the report.

This report highlights the status of salinity in the Murray–Darling Basin during 2017-18. It also identifies the key outcomes and achievements from 2017–18. Errata: This report has been updated. Changes were made to Figure 1 to reflect more recent data and is correct as at September 2023.

Under the BSM2030 strategy, every second year the MDBA is required to prepare a BSM2030 status report. This is the second BSM2030 status report prepared by the MDBA, providing an update on strategy implementation.

This report is the first of the biennial comprehensive implementation reports prepared by the MDBA under the BSM2030 strategy. The report provides an overview of outcomes and achievements against the key elements of the BSM2030 strategy and includes the executive summaries from each Contracting Government’s comprehensive report

The 2015–16 year was the first year of reporting on BSM2030 strategy implementation. Throughout 2015–16, the MDBA and partner governments concentrated on first developing and then implementing the BSM2030 strategy.

This summary report highlights the status of salinity in the Murray-Darling Basin during 2015-16. It identifies the key outcomes for the reporting period and the priorities for implementing the BSM2030 strategy in 2016-17

This is the third comprehensive report prepared by the MDBA under the BSM2030 strategy highlighting progress in implementing basin-wide salinity management. The report provides an overview of outcomes and achievements against the key elements of the BSM2030 strategy and includes the executive summaries from the report prepared by each of the Basin States and the Australian Government. 

This report reviews the adopted hypothesis that Mallee vegetation clearance and its replacement with shallow-rooted dryland farming systems results in enhanced root zone drainage and increased (but delayed) groundwater recharge that would drive more salt into the River Murray.

This report reviews the approaches and assumptions used to estimate the salinity impact of pre-1988 irrigation development in the Mallee region, focussing specifically on how irrigation accessions and recharge are estimated and implemented by the salinity register groundwater models.