08 June, 2011

The Barrages and the Lower Lakes

The linked article,published in The Australian on 7th June should be compulsory reading for all those interested in the management of the Murray Darling Basin.
I wrote the following letter to the Editor in support, which at this point has not been published:
Congratulations to Johnny Kahlbetzer for so succinctly explaining (‘Free-Flowing Estuary Vital to Healthy River System-The Australian 7th June) the mis-treatment of the Lower Lakes at the mouth of the Murray River. For far too long the South Australian's have been playing the "end of the river victim's card" and this has diverted attention from the unnatural state of Lakes Albert and Alexandrina and has focused attention on upstream diversions rather than the root cause of downstream barriers blocking out the Southern Ocean. It is extraordinary that this situation and the enormous losses of fresh water to evaporation, did not rate a single mention in the much criticised Guide to the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

No comments: