Impact of Water Act 2007 on Murray-Darling Basin

Running head: WATER LAW
Revisiting Murray Darling basin
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WATER LAW
Introduction
The improvisation and imposition of the Water Act 2007 has helped in the
formulation of the Murray –Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), which has helped the
Australian government to plan steps for improving Water Information Programme (Sennett et
al. 2014). The chief constituents of the Act are based on the development management of
the Murray-Darling Basin in a sustainable manner. The Bureau has taken steps to work with
the data collectors and stakeholders in Australia for consulting varied accounting standards,
data collection, and the like to facilitate the proper functioning of the hydrological monitoring
systems. In 2008, the Australian government planned to undertake an investment of $450
million for the undertaking the improvement initiative (Bom.gov.au 2018).
The water of the basin is an attraction for the Europeans in terms of settlement. The
government planned to create dams for capturing the waters from the upper catchment areas.
Regulation of the water flow enhanced the awareness regarding the meeting the demands
(Skinner and Langford 2013). Differing from the natural flow patterns compelled the
scientists to think about sustainable water developments. Herein lays the appropriateness of
the policies, which reduced the pressure of the river system. Consideration of the issues like
population growth, emerging agricultural industries, droughts and floods, proved beneficial in
terms of catering to the socio-economic needs for water. Incorporation of the modern fabric
within the policies and procedures reflect the attempt towards preserving the traditions and
cultural heritage. In this regard, the purpose of this essay is to figure out the impact of the
Water Act of 2007 on the Murray-Darling Basin and the way it influences the social,
economic and environmental aspects in that region. As a matter of fact, the report is also
going to analyse the current plan to understand whether the current plan is right or it requires
some changes.

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WATER LAW
Legal compliances towards water
The government ensures that every citizen gets access to the natural resources for the
fulfilment of their basic needs. For this, specific laws have been introduced. Typical example
of this is the Environmental Protection Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act
among others. In this context, the purpose of the Water Act is coincided with the National
Water reform agenda of the Australian government. As far as the National Water Reform
Program is concerned the Australian government puts emphasis on enhancing the water
market, reducing over allocation of water especially in the Murray-Darling Basin and also the
environmental sustainability (Skinner and Langford 2013). Therefore, this section would
focus on Water Act (2007) in terms of balancing the social, economic and environment
interests of the society.
Water Act
Due to the enactment of the Water Act of 2007 the Bureau of Meteorology got the
power to implement plan in order to safeguard the water resource in the Murray Darling
Basin. As per the government website, the Water Act encompasses a great deal of emphasis
on improving the water standards. In respect to this, the bureau is entitled to collect, generate
and interpret the water information of the Murray Darling Basin. Besides this, conducting
regular assessments are also a part of the planning of the bureau. The next step is associated
with publishing the annual National Water account and providing forecasts regarding the
report. In addition to this, suggestions and recommendations regarding the condition of the
water resource in the Murray Darling Basin is also incorporated into the activity of the Water
Act (Ren and Kingsford 2011).
In this regard, the Water Act highlights a blueprint for the planning of the Murray
Darling Basin. There are some recommendations the Australian government must possess in

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WATER LAW
order to implement the Murray Darling Basin plan successfully. Therefore, the
recommendations are limited water resources, enactment of water conservation regulation;
increase the flow in the Murray Darling Basin, water allocation transfers and holdbacks.
Murray Darling Basin Agreement
This agreement forms the first schedule of Water Act. The purpose of this agreement
is to promote sustainable, equitable and efficient use of water and other resources provided
by the Murray Darling basin. The Ministerial Council takes the initiatives to amend the
agreement as per the needs, demands and requirements. Mention can be made of schedules G
and H, which aimed to reduce the issues of drought (Rao, Tanton and Vidyattama 2015).
Backlash in the basin
Frustrated irrigators of Griffith, North South Wales intended to set fire to the
document, which they thought to be the plan for their destruction. They exposed their
frustration by shouting slogans. The organization in charge was against the current way of
business, which resulted in inadequate access of water around the areas (Qaiser et al. 2013).
Hot topics were discussed by the media, which snatched away the daily bread from the
common people. The agitated farmers were determined to get justice. Awareness of the
environmental changes reflect the concerns towards preservation of the environmental
diversity. The opposing comments brought fissures in the alliance between the Federal
government and the Murray Darling Authority (Kirby et al. 2013).
Declarations regarding producing the solution in 12 months’ time reflect the decision
regarding the recipients and the quantity of water. The emergence of a solution is unlikely
until and unless the government undertakes tough decisions. Here, the question lies that
would the reforms suffice political, social and economic needs of water?