Why was the focus of the First Step the recovery of 500 GL of environmental water?
In 2003, the Australian, New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian and Australian Capital Territory Governments agreed to recover 500 GL LTCE (long-term Cap equivalent) to benefit the environmental health of the six icon sites and assist in addressing water over-allocation in the Murray–Darling Basin. This decision followed an assessment in 2002 by a Scientific Reference Panel (SRP) of potential environmental flow provisions for the River Murray. These provisions were based on a reduction of the Cap on surface water diversions by various volumes from 350 GL to over 1,500 GL. The SRP concluded that: • 350 GL would provide little whole-of-river ecological benefit but might provide local benefits to targeted parts of the river • 1,500 GL would have substantial whole-of-river benefits. The SRP also concluded that 1,500 GL, combined with improved structural, operational and water quality management, could deliver a ‘healthy, working river’. Following this assessment, governments agreed t
