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https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-drying-out-the-forgotten-rivers-that-keep-the-murray-darling-alive-we-need-a-new-plan-275562>
"If you stand beside Seven Creeks in Victoria or Spring Creek in Queensland,
they might seem small and unremarkable. But these creeks flow into the mighty
Goulburn and Condamine Rivers, and punch far above their weight.
Small headwater creeks, at the beginning of a river network, act as the first
source of water for bigger rivers. Headwaters deliver the first cool winter
flows and the large seasonal pulses of water that trigger fish migration,
setting the river’s rhythm. But they’re also the first to suffer from drought,
heatwaves and water captured by thousands of small farm dams.
As the rivers of Australia’s largest system, the Murray-Darling Basin,
experience a hotter and more variable climate, their headwaters are at the
forefront of change.
This year, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority is reviewing the basin plan. The
plan sets sustainable, legally enforceable limits on water usage, and rightly
identifies climate change as a central challenge. Yet its new discussion paper
pays surprisingly little attention to the vast network of smaller tributaries
that feed the basin’s larger rivers.
We need attention on these “forgotten” rivers and streams, which are
increasingly central to the survival of the Murray-Darling Basin as a whole."
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
