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Articles on Murray Darling basin

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An Aboriginal flag planted on the riverbed in front of the last stagnant pools of water that are now the Darling River at Wilcannia. John Janson-Moore

Friday essay: death on the Darling, colonialism’s final encounter with the Barkandji

Heidi Norman, University of Technology Sydney and John Janson-Moore, University of Technology Sydney

For the Barkandji people, the crisis on the Barwon-Darling represents the biggest threat to their continued survival on country since the sheep invaded.
Dead fish are a source of food for bacteria, which then extract oxygen from the river. AAP

How is oxygen ‘sucked out’ of our waterways?

Stuart Khan, UNSW Sydney

Hundreds of thousands of fish have died in low-oxygen water. Here’s what actually happened to the oxygen, and why we might see more deaths in the coming weeks.
The more the market is willing to pay, the harder it is to regulate water use. Shutterstock.com

What happens to small towns whose water becomes big business for bottled brands?

Emma Kathryn White, The University of Melbourne and Rebecca Louise Nelson, The University of Melbourne

Residents of a small Victorian town realised that delicious water can be a curse as well as a blessing, when they lost a legal battle to stop a local farmer shipping groundwater to a nearby bottling plant.
The Murrumbidgee River is one of several sites in the Murray-Darling Basin where improvements are being detected. CSIRO/Wikimedia Commons

It will take decades, but the Murray Darling Basin Plan is delivering environmental improvements

Angus Webb, The University of Melbourne; Darren Ryder, University of New England; Fiona Dyer, University of Canberra; Michael Stewardson, The University of Melbourne; Mike Grace, Monash University; Nick Bond, La Trobe University; Paul Frazier, University of New England; Qifeng Ye; Rick Stoffels, CSIRO; Robyn J Watts, Charles Sturt University; Samantha Capon, Griffith University, and Skye Wassens, Charles Sturt University

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been politically fraught and mired in scandal. But environmental monitoring suggests that the health of the rivers is indeed improving – even if it will take decades.
Despite billions spent on trying to save water in the Murray Darling Basin, results have been disappointing. John Williams

The Murray Darling Basin Plan is not delivering – there’s no more time to waste

Quentin Grafton, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Darla Hatton MacDonald, University of Tasmania; David Paton, University of Adelaide; Graham Harris, University of Wollongong; Henning Bjornlund, University of South Australia; Jeffery D Connor, University of South Australia; John Quiggin, The University of Queensland; John Williams, Australian National University; Lin Crase, University of South Australia; Richard Kingsford, UNSW Sydney, and Sarah Ann Wheeler, University of Adelaide

A dozen leading researchers have issued an urgent call to action for the Murray-Darling Basin, arguing that the billions spent on water-efficient irrigation have done little for the rivers’ health.
The mouth of the Murray River delivers vital nutrients to marine life in the ocean beyond. SA Water

Drought on the Murray River harms ocean life too

Hannah Auricht, University of Adelaide and Kenneth Clarke, University of Adelaide

Low flows in the Murray River in recent years have harmed tiny marine plants called phytoplankton, with consequences for local marine species and management.

Related Topics

  1. Climate change
  2. Drought
  3. Fish
  4. Irrigation
  5. Murray Darling
  6. Murray Darling Basin Authority
  7. Murray Darling Basin Plan
  8. Murray River
  9. Rivers
  10. Water

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