The Murray River Group of Councils (MRGOC) has urged decision makers to ensure that future water savings in northern Victoria are achieved through investment in irrigation and environmental infrastructure to avoid the loss of more productive water from the system.
The MRGOC – which comprises Swan Hill Rural City Council and the neighbouring Mildura and Gannawarra councils – recently met with water stakeholders from Goulburn-Murray Water and Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
The MRGOC said the basin plan’s impact must be fully understood through a balance of its social, economic and environmental impacts.
It comes after the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) held information sessions across the region to explain proposed changes that include a 70 gigalitre reduction in the water recovery target for the north.
MRGOC chairman councillor Gary Cleveland said discussions focused on how to measure the impact of the basin plan on communities, irrigation modernisation and the future of irrigated agriculture.
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