As the Albanese Government is trying to rush through its water recovery strategy before Christmas, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s sand slug has been very active. Like a mythical creature that lurks in the watery depths, the sand slug was the MDBA’s answer to why the natural constraint of the Barmah Choke had reduced in water delivery capacity.
The MDBA funded researchers laid the blame squarely at the feet of gold miners from 150 years ago who used hydraulic mining to remove the earth, much like the MDBA’s own hydraulic land clearing widening the Murray in contravention of the 2007 Water Act.
Photos courtesy The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper
Residents with over 60 years’ experience on the river disputed the claims that 1800s mining was the root cause of the problem, instead witnessing a dramatic change post-Basin Plan river operation and a shift in geographical water use resulting in the erosion of beaches and banks they had enjoyed for more than half a century, now gone.
Many wonder how sand from the Victorian mountains would evade such sand traps as the Yarrawonga Weir and Lake Mulwala, or even why the sand slug didn’t cause issues during the pre-Basin Plan era of river regulation.
The irony of a plan that was to “restore the balance” and “save the Murray” now requires the removal of natural constraints and is eroding hundreds of kilometres of the Murray is not lost on local communities.
A recent photo from grass roots community members continues to highlight the rapid rate of erosion at Davies Beach, Cobram. Communities up and down the over 400km stretch of the Murray being eroded are yet to see any monitoring or action taken by the MDBA, despite protections in legislation.
That does beg the question how independent is the authority? Could the reason they fail to implement Schedule 3 of the water act be that it would affect the Commonwealth Water Holder? Water traders? Or the Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s ambition to add to the already currently held environmental water entitlements of 4,622 gigalitres, made up of that ACT 0GL, QLD 136GL, SA 252GL, VIC 1,493GL, and NSW 2,740GL.
The plan rolls on.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 15 December 2022.
