Astounded - Queensland Farmer's Federation are unbelievable.

I am absolutely stunned by the Queensland Farmers Federation and the suggestion that Adelaide Water Restrictions should be higher.

The entire South Australian water draw only represents 5% of the the drawings across all states.

Queensland sits smugly at the top of the system drawing and storing 10 times more water than the whole SA outtake.

I am told that the evaporation off of Farm storage reflects more than all of the water we are allocated in South Australia - Unbelievable.

The figures quoted seem to be very out of kilter with recent numbers released by the Federal Government.

Station to send 90bn litres down Murray

This is an amazing step. Congratulations. The only way to allow enough water is to stop this kind of mass storage. If we have to buy the farm, so to speak, then so be it. There are so many properties in these areas that are harvesting water and not allowing the natural flow of the River.

Please read this article and you will agree that this is a strategy that has been absolutely pushed by this blog since I started writing.

Thank you at last a step in the right direction - now lets move on to the next one. The more of this kind of action will see a terrific move to a happy healthy river system, and the surrounding economic communities will benefit.

We still need to consider how to harvest flood waters from the Northern Rivers as well. I stress only flood waters. If this water can be redirected inland rather than allowed to go out to sea then we will be protecting the overall production that has been built around our River Systems.

Take Control of all Water Allocations

Professor Mike Young has today told the Senate Committee that just buying water is not the answer. The allocations down stream will just eat it all up.Rfere to the attached article "No Extra Water In sight"

Until the Federal Government takes control of all Water Allocations under Emergency Powers the folly that the State Governments have so brilliantly overseen cannot be undone.

The massive water storage facilities in the upstream environment have to be let go - and the downstream draw then has to managed very carefully. If each irrigator was allowed an emergency allocation of the flow that could be created the management of environment, Crops, livelihood and the economy I believe could be brought back to sustainable flow for all participants.

Professor Young and his "Wentworth Group" cohorts have been saying this stuff for years now and still nothing.

Please hear what is being said and step in and do the right thing.

And now the Greens want to add the CSIRO

The Greens are astounded why CSIRO has not been directly involved in this disaster.I am too - why hasn't our leading Scientific Research body been incorporated in this process. Indeed why haven't "the Wentworth Group" been included. The cluster of talent that is just not being utilised is criminal.

The important part of this is nothing has been done. A lot of the land that is under irrigation was originally part of soldier settlement programs and we encouraged them to grow Citrus and Grapes etc. Now we choose to desert these families and destroy a lifetime of work.

What has happened is Governments have continued to rape the Golden Goose and have significantly over allocated the River resource. We have allowed bulk storage of water that has now shut down River flow but still there are massive amounts of water being collected and stored at the headwater.

The "johnny come lately's" in the upper reaches of the Darling etc who have only in the relatively recent past been storing massive amounts of water in new dams and have really changed the whole face of the river system and the agriculture of these previous pastoral only regions.

Please let's not just add another layer of administrative static now. Let the water go from these massive storage facilities and let people along the river use what allocation they really need to survive. The surplus will fix the environmental issues and proper management of allocation can be installed if only the Federal Government will act instead of continuing to pay lip service to the issues at hand.

I would hate to consider the mental health issues that this continued "head in the sand attitude" is causing and wonder if statistics of family breakdown and suicide can be directly attributed to this disaster are being kept.

Political tokenism is way past its use by date and action must happen NOW!!!!

The Federal Government to spend another $400million

So again Senator Wong announces a further $400 million to buy back water. She hopes that it will add to the already acquired 39 billion litres of water already acquired.

I am not sure why Penny keeps talking in Billions of litres when the normal nomenclature along the River is megalitres.A cynical man might believe that talking billions makes it sound lots. So 39,000 megalitres have been acquired which is only about one third of what is required. $400million what will it buy and will it only force up the price for those who are trying to survive downstream.

The upstream problems are mainly caused by Bulk Storage in dams away from the River. This problem is still not being addressed. Any kind of drawing that is holding water in Dams away from the river for future proofing must be stopped. If the crop protection requires that kind of mass storage then it should not be allowed. Draw water as it passes by - the River has already put in place locks etc to assist in flow management and we the taxpayers have paid for all of that infrastructure.

Let the water in these private storage facilities go - take back control of allocations and the irrigators and towns who require water can then draw what they need as it passes - frankly capturing water, with as much as three years supply being held in some of these privately owned storage facilities, apart from being an environmental disaster is simply un-Australian. The need to manage water only as it flows by and travels the length of the river I am sure will give us back an appropriate amount of water for now. Then we look at supplemental flows like flood mitigation of Northern Rivers.

Stop Third Party Bulk Storage First

So the opposition leader wants to lower the weirs to increase flow. It has some merit of course and will have an effect on flow.

Before we consider doing this why would we not look at stopping what you might call third party dams and storage facilities being used.

The amount of water that is being pumped to private dams and storage facilities is outrageous. If that is necessary one wonders at the viability of the crops that are being grown in those region.

If irrigators use the water as it is passing by then the flow with controls over allocations will also increase. The weirs of course were installed to ensure any water at all along the length of most of the rivers. Before the locks all of the rivers were more often than not dry in certain areas for significant periods of each year.

I find it difficult to comprehend storing water in dams for farming with, it is said, up to three years supply for some properties. The evaporation and seepage must be awesomely wasteful.I also find it difficult when it is reported that considerable of these facilities have been illegally constructed.

The infrastructure that the taxpayer has contributed to should be left alone in the first instance and the illegal on property facilities in inappropriate areas should be be removed immediately.

Federal Government Control is essential

Senator Penny Wong again comes out and says that a single controlling body must occur. The Federal Government has the power constitutionally to take that control in the National interest. There is sufficient precedent available in the takeover and control of the Franklin River in Tasmania many years ago.

Queensland comes out and defends the amount of irrigation water that has drawn this year because of the seasonal rains that have given the upper reaches significant inflows. I actually have no problem with the drawing of the water. The problem is that it has been drawn and is now being stored in artificial dams and we are told that some organisations have taken up to three years supply into their storage.

Reported (a University of NSW report)some months ago in this blog there are over 2400kms of illegal dams and levees in the NSW portion of the basin, this unnatural capture is wrong.

That is outrageous, the evaporation alone from those storage facilities is very likely to be more than the requirements to supply downstream needs.

If it flows by take what you need, storing it and allowing environmental disaster further down is the abhorrent part.

Dear Senator Wong please exercise your powers and allow the river to run and allow irrigators to use what is there while it is there. Storage of the magnitude that exists is foolish and selfish.