Introduction to the River Murray
The health of the River Murray is critical to the current and
future wellbeing of South Australia. The Murray provides Adelaide
with approximately 40% of its drinking water and its water is
piped south to Keith and west to the Eyre Peninsula. The river
also supports diverse aquatic ecosystems, including RAMSAR
wetlands, provides much of the state's irrigation and stock water,
and is used for swimming, water skiing and other recreation activities.
What problems are there?
There are many pollution sources along the river's length, such
as stormwater runoff, shack septic tanks, and river vessel discharges.
However, the major source of pollution is the return of irrigation
drainage from the Lower Murray Irrigated Reclaimed Areas (LMRIA).
This is wastewater coming from flood irrigation of dairy farm
pasture. It contains high nutrient, organic and pathogen loads
from cattle faeces washed off the pastures, and salt from the
shallow groundwater.
The LMRIA consists of 27 reclaimed irrigation areas between Mannum
and Lake Alexandrina. Up to about 180 gigalitres (GL) of water
per year is diverted to these pastures for flood irrigation and
approximately 80 GL per year of polluted drainage water is returned
to the river.
As a result of these and other pollution sources, pathogen and
dissolved nutrient concentrations increase significantly downstream
of Mannum and exceed water
quality guidelines. The nutrients discharged into the river
are likely to contribute to algal blooms in the river and the
Lower Lakes. The pathogens compromise water supplies taken from
the river, including for several townships that have minimal treatment
facilities.
What is being done to improve the condition
of the River Murray?
A $35 million restructuring project is underway in the Lower
Murray Irrigation Areas. This project is jointly funded by irrigators
and the state government and will improve water efficiency and
reduce pollution of the river. Restructuring includes infrastructure
upgrades such as water metering, laser levelling of paddocks,
and installation of runoff water reuse systems.
The EPA's objective is that there will be no return of excess
flood irrigation runoff to the River after June 2008.
Other EPA strategies, coordinated through the Murraylands Office
include:
- audits of milking shed effluent systems
- water quality monitoring programs
- A major water quality risk assessment >> More
- River vessel wastewater system audits
- Marina and slipway audits
Water Quality Monitoring
Check water quality at sites that are monitored on the River
Murray. >> More
Reports
Guidelines
EPA Guidelines for the Lower Murray
Reclaimed Irrigation Areas (254KB PDF)
Codes of Practice
Code of Practice for Milking
Shed Effluent (May 2003) (344KB PDF)
Code of Practice for vessel and
facility management
(marine and inland waters) (1.45MB PDF)
Reclaimed water irrigation
of pasture for grazing of cattle and pigs (122KB
PDF)
Policy Documents
Milking Shed Effluent and the
Environment Protection (Water Quality) Policy 2003
(161 KB PDF)
Links
South
Australian Murray Darling Natural Resources Management Board
The Murray-Darling Basin Commission
This page was last modified 02-10-2008
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