Myth & the Murray: Measuring the real state of the river environment

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IPA Backgrounder, Vol. 15/5 pp28

Abstract

We have all heard about the declining health of the Murray River, including poor water quality, dying red gums and threats to the continued survival of the Murray cod---this is the popular view in urban Australia. Along the river, communities believe that the end of commercial fishing, a substantial restocking effort, improvements in on-farm practices and the construction of salt-interception schemes have resulted in a healthier river. The available evidence supports the local view and suggests that, with the possible exception of native fish stocks, the river environment is healthy.

Many of the scientific reports that have led to the perception that the Murray River is in poor health make their comparison with a natural river, which is one without dams and locks, one that gushes and then runs dry.  Such comparisons are misplaced.  If the ulitmate objective of the conservation movement is a natural river, then we must reject the cultural heritage and economic wealth created by the engineering works, including the Snowy Mountains Scheme.  In its natural state, the Murray River could not provide for Adelaide's water needs and it could not support the irrigation industries that have made the region the food bowl of Australia.

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