Options for alternative irrigation water supplies in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia: a case study of the Shepparton Irrigation Region

Irrigated agriculture in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) currently faces serious challenges due to water scarcity, degradation of water quality, waterlogging and salinity resulting from inappropriate water and land use practices. In particular, there is now increasing risk of water quality degradation due to nutrient rich drainage water in the river system. Therefore, the future of irrigation will depend on the strategies that protect water quality and make best use of water available in the Basin. In this paper, we examine various options that irrigators have to augment water supplies on their farms using the Shepparton Irrigation Region (SIR), Victoria, as a case study. Here, we also discuss the suitability of the ‘Drainage Water Storage Scheme’ (DWSS) in providing additional water supplies to irrigators and in reducing the risk of water quality degradation due to flow of nutrient rich runoff into Basin’s river systems.