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Monday 10 September 2007

The outlook for replenishment of water supplies to both country and city appear bleak indeed, according to a report in The Age on 7 September 2007.

Reporting on a briefing on the drought in Australia given at the Australian Science Media Centre, The Age's Rachel Kleinman reported that more than half of Australia's agricultural land, including all of Victoria's, is now drought-declared, costing the Federal Government $1.8 billion so far.

Speaking at the briefing, Murray Darling Basin Commission chief executive Dr Wendy Craik said combined storages and inflows in the Murray system were at record lows and the situation was deteriorating. "These are the worst conditions since the Hume Dam was completed in 1936," she said. "It will take multiple years for storages to recover and the outlook is very grim."

Dr Craik said irrigators on the Murray River, including many Victorian citrus growers and dairy farmers, faced their worst ever summer. Fresh produce would be hit and food prices would probably rise, Dr Craik warned.

Bureau of Meteorology national climate centre chief Michael Coughlan said hopes were fading fast for desperately needed rains. "Is this drought over? Certainly not — we can't predict when this drought will end," Dr Coughlan said.

According to The Age report, Victorian Farmers Federation president Simon Ramsay said it was crunch time for farmers. "If rain is not forthcoming (over the next week or two), there's going to be … quite a few farmers, particularly those dairy farmers on the Murray, that will fall by the wayside," he said.

Melbourne is on stage 3a water restrictions, but may move to stage 4 bans over summer.

Adelaide and Brisbane also face a dire summer of restrictions.

Dr Coughlan said the La Nina weather system, originally predicted as a drought-breaker, had so far dumped rain over the eastern seaboard and into the ocean without sufficient impact on mainland Australia.  He warned Australia could face another El Nino (which would bring more severe drought conditions) within 18 to 24 months.

Transcripts:
Dr Wendy Craik
Dr Mike Coughlan