New South Wales Government and Murray information

NSW Office of Water

Stretching from the alpine areas of the Snowy Mountains, to the mallee country near the South Australian border, the Murray–Murrumbidgee Region of DNR is a diverse area which includes some of our state's most productive country.

The region is home to many of Australia's great rivers, including the Murray, Snowy, Murrumbidgee and the lower Darling, downstream of the Menindee Lakes. These rivers, and their associated storage systems, are the lifeblood of agriculture, industry and communities in the area; particularly in the irrigation districts in the west of the region. The five major storage areas – Burrinjuck Dam, Blowering Dam, Hume Dam, Lake Victoria and the Menindee Lakes - provide about 80 per cent of the state's surface water supplies.

The Department plays a vital role in managing, allocating and protecting these water resources. The NSW Office of Water is responsible for water allocations to irrigators in the region, assesses water licences, and has developed water sharing plans to sustainably manage groundwater and surface water supplies for the long-term. Murray-Murrumbidgee also manages almost all (97%) of the state's saleable water.

We are also key partners in a number of environmental initiatives designed to improve the health of the Murray-Darling Basin. These include the Living Murray project, the Snowy River Water for Rivers project, and environmental watering of river Redgum forests along the Murray and Murrumbidgee. The region also works closely with the Murray–Darling Basin Commission in sharing the water resources between NSW, Victoria and South Australia, and between consumptive users and the environment.

Salinity is a major issue in the region, both for dryland and irrigated agriculture, and in urban areas. The NSW Office of Water operates and maintains a number of Salinity Interception Schemes in the region, and is involved in implementing the Murray Darling Basin Salinity Management Strategy.

Expert staff from the Department are heading a number of important projects and programs, including river management works for the Tumut and Upper Murray Rivers; water quality event monitoring; and the state-wide provision of chemical and biological analytical services.

Major projects and responsibilities for the NSW Office of Water Murray–Murrumbidgee

• Plantations and Private Native Forestry
• Compliance
• Water licensing
• Water trading
• Integrated monitoring of environmental flows
• Murray–Darling Basin landuse and infrastructure mapping
• Hydrometric and hydrographic operation and maintenance.

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