The Murray Darling Basin Authority has released its Constraints Relaxation Implementation Roadmap to guide the Commonwealth and governments in Victoria, NSW and SA to get the most out of returning environmental water flows to the system.
The plan's success would depend on keeping traditional owners, land owners and communities at the heart of discussions and projects, the authority's chief executive Andrew McConville said.
"It's about ensuring that every every gigalitre of water that we've recovered, you're getting that maximum environment or social economic impact from it," he told AAP.
Everyone recognises the importance of addressing constraints, authority CEO Andrew McConville says. (Adrian Black/AAP PHOTOS)
But even in an ideal world, balancing the needs of the river's millions of users isn't so simple.
Farmers have been incensed by uncapped water buybacks, where irrigators are paid to reduce their water intake to boost environmental flows.
Indigenous water entitlements have been considered grossly inadequate, while infrastructure plans to engineer environmental flows at river banks have also been challenged by traditional owners and environmental organisations.
A study also found multiple towns that depended on the Murray Darling for drinking water faced poor water quality.
Despite the varied interests vying for the river system's water, consultation in developing the plan revealed a common thread when it came to restoring the Basin and the environments it supports.
"There's not a person, whether it be a community, First Nation or government, that doesn't recognise the importance of addressing constraints," Mr McConville said.
The roadmap found the Basin needed a 10-year program of projects and procedural and legislative changes to ease constrains on environmental flows, along with a robust avenue for landowners to express their concerns.
Mr McConville stressed the plan was not about flood-level inflows that could put farms or homes at risk.
"We're not talking really high levels of water flow across the flood plain, it's about being sensible in what's happening," he said.
SA's water minister says she will continue to work with other states and the Commonwealth. (Dave Hunt/AAP PHOTOS)
The roadmap also called for a common and co-ordinated approach across states, and for the Commonwealth to work with Basin governments to provide an authorising environment to ease constraints.
The plan also recommended river operators be given more authority to act decisively in controlling catchment outflows.
NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson said her government would carefully consider the report before any further decisions, but noted her government was working towards its deadlines.
"NSW remains committed to delivering the Basin Plan in full, and that includes removing constraints and enabling environmental water to flow more freely through the system, supporting healthier rivers," Ms Jackson said.
At the mouth of the Murray in South Australia, where weaker inflows have threatened shorebird habitats and caused mass fish deaths, state water minister Susan Close said her government would continue to work with other states and the Commonwealth for the Murray-Darling Basin.
"Removing barriers to river flows in the Murray-Darling Basin will play an important role in improving the ecology of floodplains and boosting the health of the Coorong and Lower Lakes," Ms Close said in a statement.
Water ministers from Victoria, NSW and the Commonwealth have been contacted for comment.
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