Unprecedented drought in Australia’s breadbasket Murray-Darling Basin
The persistence and severity of the drought in the Murray-Darling Basin has been described as "unprecedented" after late summer inflows to the river system fell to a 117-year low.
The "bleak" outlook for next three months was adding to the grim news, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority said. Irrigation water for Australia’s food bowl will be dependent almost entirely on rainfall as basin states hold back water for critical human needs. "The persistence and severity of this drought, particularly over the past three years, is unprecedented," authority chief executive Rob Freeman said as he delivered the basin’s latest drought update. Inflows between January and March of 140 gigalitres were the lowest in 117 years, falling below the previous low of 150 gigalitres during the first three months of 2007. The 2008-09 water year is tracking as the sixth driest on record. The basin’s total useable water in storage stands at 950 gigalitres – 11 per cent of capacity – well below the March long-term average of 4,400 gigalitres. The combination of low storage levels, low river flows and high water temperatures, had contributed to outbreaks of blue-green algae in recent weeks. …
