Water

Water in storages
About the Basin
River operations
Water management
Live river data
River information centre

The Murray–Darling Basin includes 23 river valleys and more than 200,000 kilometres of river.

Millions of years ago, much of the Basin was part of a great inland sea with ancestors of the Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers running independently into an area known as the Murray Gulf.

Volcanic activity created the Great Dividing Range, turning water into the western river systems. The flat topography of the Basin meant the rivers were generally wide and slow-flowing, often terminating in vast wetlands.

Before European settlement, swampy meadows and chains-of-ponds were prevalent. Today much has changed, as human activities (such as the construction of dams and weirs, farming, rural and urban development, and the construction of roads and railways) have changed the hydrology of the Basin.

The dams, weirs, locks and channel systems have ensured a relatively reliable supply of water. Equitable distribution of water, for irrigation, for the environment and for critical urban use, is a key function of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority.

River Murray Water Quality Monitoring Program

The most recent version of the Lake Hume integrated water quality study report can be found on the website of the former Murray–Darling Basin Commission. A copy of the report can be downloaded here.