Despite Rain Elsewhere, Murray-Darling Basin Farmers Looking At Potential Zero Releases This Year

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DESPITE flooding in northern NSW and Queensland, water storages on the Murray River are still so low that the 2008-09 irrigation year could start with zero allocation again.

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission also warned yesterday that continued low inflows are having a grave environmental impact, with some floodplains still without a drink since the early 1990s.

The chief executive of the commission, Wendy Craik, said: "While critical urban, stock and domestic requirements for 2008-09 are reasonably assured, opening water allocations for Murray water users in 2008-09 are again expected to be very low or zero."

While basin inflows in 2007-08 are more than double those of 2006-07, they are still only 25 per cent of the long-term average. "The drought has not loosened its grip on irrigators and the environment for much of the Murray-Darling Basin," Dr Craik said.

EDIT

http://www.smh.com.au/news/water-issues/water-everywhere-except-the-murray/2008/03/03/1204402365403.html