SRI
Ken's special guest is Louise Burge, of Deniliquin. She is CEO of Southern Riverina Irrigators (SRI) which is an irrigator body in the mid Murray Valley of New South Wales. SRI has been operating since the 1960s. Its main focus is to develop water policy for irrigators in the original Government Irrigation Districts and now for the Murray Irrigation Limited area.
Read the SRI's advice report to the MDBA from 1 May 2010.
From page 8...
"During this current drought, if flexible management operations had been in place for the Lower Lakes, it is estimated that the ability to conserve 1180 GL in evaporation losses from the Lower Lakes (2003/04) plus an additional 280GL that went over the Barrages into the sea (2003/04), would have delivered 100% water security for South Australia, plus given an estimated increase in water supplies of 25% - 30% for Victoria and New South Wales Murray Irrigation regions. The financial implications of this savings are almost immeasurable."