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https://theconversation.com/victorias-plans-for-engineered-wetlands-on-the-murray-are-environmentally-dubious-heres-a-better-option-204116>
"Governments love the idea of a win-win – even when it doesn’t exist. That’s
why Victoria has been spending millions on planning “red gum irrigation ponds”
– essentially, engineered wetlands along the River Murray. These wetlands are
designed to save some red gum ecosystems, leave many others to decline, and
redirect billions of litres of water promised to the environment to farmers.
Controversy has followed these projects. Now, Victoria appears to have blinked,
with the state’s water minister, Harriet Shing, halting the development of four
of nine projects.
Victory for environmental water? Not quite. Victoria has spent around A$54
million just on planning these projects. By halting four of them, it sets the
scene for a larger-scale federal buyback of water for the environment. This
could signal a resumption of the Murray-Darling Basin water wars, with Victoria
the last holdout. National Irrigators’ Council chair Jeremy Morton predicted
“riot” if further water buybacks went ahead."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
