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Water Management

Fury in remote community as plans for long-awaited new weir change without consultation

Wilcannia residents say they have been blindsided by a decision to drastically alter the plans for a weir to be built along the Darling River.
A river weir flowing with a group of birds swimming nearby

Record fine for wine company and manager who stole irrigation water

A court found the conduct was "intentional" and formed part of "planned or organised criminal activity" to tap into a pipeline and steal 365 megalitres.
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Grape vine

Better climate science, greater First Nations participation flagged in national water policy overhaul

After the Productivity Commission declared Australia's overarching water policy document outdated, the federal government has revealed the details of its National Water Initiative overhaul.
Plibersek looks serious as she speaks to a camera in a corridor of parliament house.

Brisbane dugong habitat now a muddy 'dead zone' thanks to human interference, scientists say

When a strong easterly wind blows across Moreton Bay, its crystal waters can quickly become awash with mud. Experts say the issue is killing sea plants and the vulnerable species that feed on them.
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Brisbane River flood plume March 2022

Toxic-algae warning for pets and swimmers in parts of Murray River, South Australia

SA Health has issued a warning to people to avoid contact with water from the Murray River in an area from Wellington to Goolwa and across the whole of Lake Alexandrina, due to elevated levels of blue-green algae.
Updated
A dalmatian licks its nose while standing in shallow water

Fruit growers facing difficult future as key WA dam dries up

Water in Glen Mervyn Dam, 200km south of Perth, has dropped by 80 per cent in a year, prompting calls for growers to future-proof their orchards.
Glen Mervyn dam low water levels

From divining rods to 'hoax' machines, the hunt for water has long captivated imaginations

In drought-plagued WA, the search for water has always been an intense preoccupation. And records show that for decades, the state government believed water divining was the answer.
Mr Larkman of Toodyay demonstrating water divining in 1965.

'It destroys everything': The Australian town with undrinkable, salty and corrosive tap water

In a regional town just a few hours from Adelaide, an ongoing water crisis means the locals and their animals won't drink the tap water — yet residents are paying the same rates as residents in the city. 
Woman holding and looking at a glass of water in a kitchen.

The town where people and their pets won’t drink the tap water

Almost all residents in the South Australian tourist hotspot of Quorn refuse to drink their tap water - saying it's bitter and salty - and not enough is being done to fix the problem.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 5 minutes 50 seconds

Farmers' brainwave transforms once-dry region to dairy and grape country

Water is critical to running a successful farm and these 14 Tasmanian farmers have found a way to make sure they won't struggle obtaining it again.
man walking through fields of crop

Sunburnt fruit getting 'cooked' on the tree as dry spell continues in WA

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts below average autumn rainfall across the South West, with drought conditions across parts of the North West also set to stretch on.
Richard Licciardello checking out his pear produce in his local packing shed.

Beyond the Opera House and the bridge, Sydney Harbour holds many secrets

The sparkling waters hold many untold stories; from the saltwater custodians who've cared for this place for thousands of years to the fishermen and boatbuilders whose livelihoods depend on it.
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A series of images with people walking along a cloudy beach

Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull's plans for major pumped hydro project in rural NSW

The former prime minister is making strides to build his own renewable energy project, with the New South Wales government backing early investigations into pumped hydro in the Upper Hunter.
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A woman and man in red shirts and broad-brimmed hats smile to camera, with a valley of green farmland in the background.

SA government to spend $100m on desalination plant and pipeline network 'pre-feasibility study'

The South Australian government explores building a desalination plant on the state's Eyre Peninsula that would deliver water to mining and agriculture in the far north.
Animation design of desalination plan

Amid a housing crisis and a population boom, this council is also trying to avoid running short on water

The Tweed shire is set to grow by up to a third over the next two decades. The council must now decide where to house the new arrivals, and how to ensure they have water.
An aerial photo of an urban area with a river through the middle, and a green mountain range in the distance.

Yass businesses spending hundreds of dollars a week on bottled water, as treatment problem remains

A Yass pub says it's spending at least $50 a day on bottled water, while GPs are relying on hand sanitiser, as a treatment problem with the water supply remains one week on from when it started.
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A woman stands behind a pub bar holding five bottles of water.

Oxygenation method usually used in emergencies trialled in Darling River to prevent mass fish kills

Tens of millions of native fish have perished along the Darling River over the past five years following a series of mass kills. In an attempt to mitigate future deaths the NSW government is trialling technology that pumps pure oxygen into the water. 
Two men wearing orange shirts and lifejackets test the water along the Darling River at Menindee.

How a new modified clay from Western Australia could help stop algal blooms

Algal blooms harmful to humans and fish could be a thing of the past thanks to the development of a new clay modified to target the algae's food source.
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Boat on lake sprays liquid onto the surface

First water buybacks agreed in $205 million deal

Australia's Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has completed the first Commonwealth water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin since 2020.
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a woman in a white suit in the House of Reps smiling

Sydney Water's plans to fix creek banks will 'wipe out' platypus habitat, conservationists say

A court has ordered Sydney Water to repair eroded banks of a Penrith creek, but a possible fix has alarmed conservationists. 
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A woman holding a platypus by the tail at night

Vandals render earthmovers inoperable, delaying dredging at the mouth of the Murray River

Police ask the public for help to identify those who smashed the machines' windows, tore off doors and wrecked internal fittings. 
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An excavator cab with no windows, front or doors

Under a sweltering WA summer could these hexagonal discs save the drinking water of towns?

In its latest effort to shore-up supply, Water Corporation is adding thousands of plastic hexagons to dams to stop drinking water from being lost to evaporation.
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black discs floating in a dam

Why this small town in country Victoria has dyed its lake blue

Since it was first carved into the soil in 1960, Nhill Lake in the state's west has been a soothing sight for residents of its namesake town. But this year it looks even more attractive than usual.
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a blue lake surrounded by trees adjoining the town of Nhill in Victoria, Australia

Device promises to reduce loss of precious water in southern WA

Four small rural communities in the Great Southern have become the first to trial the Hexa-Cover to prevent water evaporation from dams.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes

Delay to fish kill investigation disappoints environmentalist in call for better monitoring

A Katherine resident is concerned about the quality of information collected by government investigators after it took four days for them to get to the site of a Northern Territory fish kill.
Dead fish among a reedy waterbank