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In 1995 the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council published an audit of water use in the Murray-Darling Basin. The Murray-Darling Basin covers a large part of south–eastern Australia, including most of the inland area of NSW. This audit found that since the 1950s there has been a continuing increase in the quantity of water diverted from the rivers in the Basin. For example from 1988 to 1994 water consumption across the Basin had increased by 8 per cent – and was continuing to grow. The audit concluded that the high level of use in the Basin was a major factor in river health decline. In a normal year, flows at the end of the Murray were only 20 per cent of their natural level.
Growth in water use in Murray-Darling Basin since 1920 (source: MDBC 1995, 13)
As a result, a cap on surface water extractions was introduced in 1995 to prevent further growth in extractions. The Murray-Darling Basin cap is a long term average annual extraction target which combines with shorter term annual target assessments that take into account annual climatic variations. The introduction of the cap was seen as an essential first step in providing for the sustainability of the river systems of the Basin. The NSW Office of Water monitors extractions and, if growth is occurring, reduces the amount of water that can be taken by licence holders to bring exactions back into line with the cap.
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