The Murray River in Australia may soon be a major victim of environmental collapse. This river, which is the primary source of fresh drinking and irrigation water for most of Southeastern Australia, is very sick, and possibly terminally ill. If this were happening in the United States, it would be the equivalent of watching the Mississippi run dry.

Regional experts are racking their brains to find a solution to this crisis. They are recommending solutions ranging from the less intensive (changing irrigation practices to more efficient models) to the extreme: flushing the river with 250 gigaliters of water from the River Darling. Even with desperate measures and immediate action, Carol Vincent (a local expert) says, “It may already be to late to save the Murray system.” The Coorong estuary, which is an ecosystem labeled “a wetland of international significance” by the Ramsar Convention, is nearly dead. Only one third of the estuary is still considered live, and that may not survive the next dry season.

This failing system, which includes the Murray River plus several lakes and a major wetland, should be a red flag for the entire planet.

Cubbie Station

In the case of the Murray river, there is one major property that is crucial to the future of the entire region: Cubbie Station.

The Cubbie Station is a cotton farm in Queensland Australia which is possibly the “largest privately-owned irrigation farm in the southern hemisphere.” It stretches over 93,000 hectares of Australian land, and holds the title to over 500,000 megaliters of water. Cubbie Station is for sale, and the purchase of the $450 million property has become a hot topic for Australians.

Cubbie Station has been the center of water controversy for many years. Its water rights are locked in at an astonishingly low rate: the annual bill for the huge amount of water allotted to the property each year is a humble $3,700. Meanwhile neighboring farmers with water rights of around 1,000 megaliters are paying an average of $30,000 every year. And they pay their fees whether the water is delivered or not, and they don’t get their water until the Cubbie Station’s thirst has been quenched.

According to many in the region, the water woes of Australia are not the result of several seasons of drought, but are instead created by greed, and inadequate environmental policies which makes it easier to dam and divert river water in Australia than it is to build an outhouse.

“It is not drought but favoritism bordering on corruption and staggering levels of incompetence that is to blame.”

Federal Fiasco

The Cubbie Station has a steep asking price, but the Federal Government in Australia has budgeted $3.1 billion over the next 10 years specifically for the purpose of purchasing water rights and redirecting those megaliters back into the river. Many interested parties are now insisting that purchasing Cubbie Station is the best way to save Murray River.

“The Southern Australian Government is calling on the Federal government to buy Cubbie Station.”

Where will all the Water Go?

One of the reasons for governmental wavering on the subject is concern that the water won’t get back to the river, but will be grabbed up by other agricultural sueres downstream, and the government insists they must be guaranteed there will be proper monitoring.

The concern that water river won’t be returned to either the river or to water users downstream was highlighted recently when 400ML were released to a farmer halfway down the Balonne river, and only 4ML made it to the intended recipient. The rest was lost in transition, probably captured and utilized by other thirsty agriculturalists between the intended farm and the water’s source.

Critics insist that by purchasing the water rights from Cubbie Station, the value of water rights all over the region will increase, forcing the government and conservationists to pay an even steeper price simply to return the water to its river and take it out of economic circulation.

Power to the People

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon feels that the best option is for the Federal Government to “takeover the Murray River system.” He wants to see land and water rights, (which have previously been sold jointly) to be separated, leaving the land ownership to the individual, while granting the federal government authority over the country’s rivers.

The push for government takeover of the Murray-Darling river basin isn’t likely to succeed, primarily due to the fact that it gives authority to the Federal government, something the citizens of Australia are rarely willing to do. In fact, only 8 out of the last 44 referendums that were destined to grant more power to the federal government of Australia passed. It isn’t likely that government control of the nation’s water will be a popular choice.

Business Bent but not Broken

In October the Chairman of the company, Keith De Lacy handed the business over to administrators in an effort to mitigate the financial damage inflicted by multiple years of drought. He said, “We’ve had only one good season in the last five.” Many local officials working on the project mentioned that this shift in management of the Cubbie Station would improve chances of the river water being returned to the river and the creatures that depend upon it.

Farming Fears

The major reason for the potential purchase of Cubbie Station water rights is to return that water to the river, but as local cattlemen like Wayne O’Mally point out, the guzzling agri-business in Cubbie Station is also impacting many people downstream.

“Cubbie Station diverts water that would otherwise flow across the border down through the lower Ballone floodplain and into the Culgoa that nourishes Mr. O’Mally’s land.”

According to O’Mally, during the last several years of drought, diversions by the Cubbie Station cotton growers have been particularly painful. He, and others like him, have been forced to graze their cattle and ewes in other regions of Australia, making it hard for him to keep afloat. Mr. O’Mally says it is precisely this struggle that has disheartened many young Australians, forcing them to choose livelihoods outside of agriculture, and leading to the end of an Australian way of life.

Ringing the Right Bell

Just two weeks ago, the Bell family, owners of “one of Australia’s best rural property portfolios” expressed interest in the Cubbie Station property. They are primarily focused on the water rights available in the sale and a recent rainstorm, which revitalized the land and highlighted the potential for water investment in the region, piqued their interest.

Murray river is struggling, as a new algae bloom erupts between the Hume Dam and Cobram, the environmental distress of the entire ecosystem is highlighted. What will the people of Australia do to save this river system?

What can you do?

There are many ways to get involved in river restoration and water conservation efforts at home and all over the planet. One way to get started is to simply type in the name of a local river you love and do a Google search. Try it and you may be surprised at the challenges and changes facing the planet’s waterways, even in our own back yards. Check them out today and get involved in the solution!

You can also check out the Riverkeepers organization…