The ample MDB rains of 2022 following two good years have lead to the 46 Sydney Harbours (23,377GL) flowing into South Australia.
www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps/rainfall/?variable=rainfall&map=percent&period=12month®ion=md&year=2022&month=12&day=31
This eye watering volume of fresh water has originated as rainfall. The MDB is ~1million sq km so if 500mm rain fell on average in 2022 that is 0.5GL x 1million or 500,000 GL or 1,000 Sydney Harbours of rainfall.
Now there is evaporation, soakage into the ground, recharging of acquifers, filling dams of all sizes, as these colossal floods move on their pathways over the MDB landscape and make their way to the Murray R.
The Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek is still demanding NSW & Vic waste more water to the sea by way of Environmental Flows agreed to years ago. Water ministers fail to agree on way forward as Murray-Darling Basin Plan deadline looms 24Feb23
www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-24/states-fail-to-agree-as-murray-darling-basin-plan-deadline-looms/102018886
Four months ago I blogged –
MDB floods widespread but GreenLabor planning huge enviro flows 31Oct2022
www.warwickhughes.com/blog/?p=6989
I said then [The Minister seems to be gloating about stopping previous Gov dam projects, already stalled in antidam State bureaucracies, and using the $Bns to buy water out of the MDB plan for future flushing down to the sea.
Making the MDB a smaller & less important future food-bowl and the wide brown land will be a weaker food producer.]
I also blogged before Christmas 2022 –
So irrigation is only 1% of the Murray–Darling Basin!!! 22Dec22
www.warwickhughes.com/blog/?p=7050
Thats 1% of the area.
Useful analysis, Warwick.
Our various Cabinets (State and Federal) are supplied with such information, I’m sure, but perhaps not in the same format. Nonetheless, senior bureaucrats and politicians are well aware of the situation.
It is really hard to believe this contradiction of fact vs policy is just coincidental.
Well, the floods have reduced food production (along with rain sodden fields) so the environmental flows are unnecessary.
And there have been reports even in “our press” that the heavy outflow from the Murray Mouth has brought a lot of muddy ‘fresh’ water out into the nearby on-shore bays which is upsetting the local ecology and resulting in dead fish.