The water reform debate highlighted in proposals by the “Wentworth Group” of leading Australian water scientists fails to recognise and capitalise on the variety of water uses along the Murray River, says Charles Sturt University lecturer Jonathon Howard. 

“According to the Wentworth Group’s proposal, tourism and recreation are not considered legitimate water uses because the needs of these activities, such as the need for good quality water, are often compatible with environmental objectives,” Mr Howard said.

“The Wentworth group is right in saying the way forward is to stop the huge water waste by our cities and in irrigation, but if we increase environmental flows down the Murray, we should also think about subsequent limitations imposed on other water users, including recreation users such as fishers, skiers and sailors.”

As an expert in the interaction between tourism and the environment and conservation, Mr Howard is concerned by the effects that changing water flows might have on the tourism industry along the Murray River.

“The Murray River attracts 1.6 million tourists from Victoria and 1.1 million from NSW, generating $1.5 billion annually for the Murray region. This amount does not include tourism attracted to the Victorian Food Bowl, the nearby Murrumbidgee River or the Victorian snowfields, nor does it include money spent by local people on recreation,” said Mr Howard, a senior lecturer with the University’s School of Environmental & Information Sciences in Albury.

Mr Howard noted that recreation and tourism are growing faster than most other industries along the Murray. For example, the Victorian Government recently approved a 100-berth marina and major tourist development at Mildura and a $200 million foreshore re-development at Lake Mulwala.
According to Mr Howard, there must also be a balance in who pays for environmental flows.

“If recreational users of the Murray like anglers pay a licence fee that generates revenue to rehabilitate the river, why can’t tourists who come to the region to play golf on courses using water from the Murray? Why should only irrigators pay for maintaining what are also recreational assets?”

Mr Howard said that Victoria’s Lake Mokoan is a good example of this problem. The lake is a significant recreation and tourism asset generating over $1 million each year for the region. However, the 4 400 hectare lake looses 42 thousand megalitres of water annually through evaporation, a major loss for irrigators and the environment. 

“Similarly, the ten weirs along the lower Murray create giant water pools between 30 and 88km long, while Lake Alexandria at the river mouth in South Australia covers 1 100 square kilometres. These lakes have significant recreation and tourism values while also causing reduced flooding and high evaporation, which can cause local groundwater and soil salinity to rise,” Mr Howard said.

“As recreation and tourism are economically important to their communities and legitimate water users, they should be added to any comprehensive ‘water accounting’ system, such as that suggested by the Wentworth Group.”