Search results

Basin in Brief provides a monthly summary of climate, rainfall, inflows and water quality information. This page was updated 13 April 2023.

Acid sulfate soils can pose a serious risk to the health of the plants, animals and communities of the Murray–Darling Basin especially during high risk periods such as droughts under low flows and water levels.

Hydrological conditions often differ each year and across regions of the Basin. Planning for dry conditions is a major challenge for river operators, water resource managers and the community.

When parts of the Murray–Darling Basin are in drought it affects the whole river system, including plants and animals, the communities of the Basin, and farming and food production.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority met on 28 and 29 July 2021. All members were present, and the meeting was chaired by Sir Angus Houston.

The prolonged drought across the Basin means in the next 12 months environmental water will be used strategically to protect our wetlands, floodplains and river ecosystems from further damage, and place them in the best possible position to recover from the drought when it breaks, according to the latest Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) report.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority held its first meeting for 2020 in Canberra on 11-12 February. In the wake of devastating fires, drought and flooding the Authority acknowledged the hardship many communities have experienced this summer and the difficult road to recovery ahead.

This report summarises the key lessons learnt from the Millennium drought for operation of the River Murray System and the changes made since then to improve water resource management in extreme dry conditions.

Updated operational planning for the Murray River has sharpened focus on the potential for dry conditions to continue through to winter 2019.