Browsing round for background material on a post on my personal blog, Floods, Lake Eyre and yachting, reminded me about the current Murray-Darling Basin Authority Sustainable Diversion Limits study. A dry title, but one whose purpose is defined in this way:
A central element of the Basin Plan is to set environmentally sustainable limits on the amount of water that can be taken from the Basin’s water resources. These are known as sustainable diversion limits (SDLs). SDLs will limit the amount of surface water and groundwater that can be taken from the Basin and will replace the current cap system.
Last year the Authority released an issues paper for comment; 155 submissions were received in response. You can find the issues paper and public submissions here.
I mention this because the outcomes from the process with its strong environmental focus are likely to have significant and differential economic and social effects across the vast basin affecting, among other things, jobs and land and real estate prices. For that reason, those who currently live in the Basin or who might want to move or invest there really need to monitor the process.
I haven't got my own mind around the issues yet. I will try to do so for a later post.
