Submission in response to : 
Environmental Flows for the River Murray
South Australia s framework for collective action to restore river health
2005 2010
DRAFT for Consultation October 2004
December 2004
Introduction
The Conservation Council of South Australia ( CCSA ) is the peak environment body in SA with a membership of over 50 environment groups.
CCSA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Flows for the River Murray DRAFT, a document that we believe has the potential to seriously address the critical condition of the River Murray in South Australia .
Each chapter of the document is discussed below.
Ch1. Introduction
CCSA is very concerned that the documents vision, in pursuing the return of at least 1500 gigalitres of water per year by 2018, is insufficient if the objective is to achieve a sustainable relationship with the river.
The appropriate target is the return of at least 1500 gigalitres in annual flows to the river within 5 to10 years. This timescale is based on an ever growing amount of scientific literature discussing decreased system inflows, and the economic, social and environmental predictions within this literature which highlight the need for South Australia to adopt a proactive agenda based on this evidence that a precautionary approach is warranted. Some of this evidence is outlined below:
Australia s leading river ecologists state that annual flow returns of 1500 gigalitres, will give the river a moderate chance of regaining its health [1] . In other words, this is the bare minimum that must be returned.
It is predicted that more than 2000 gigalitres may be lost from the system over the next 20 years due to:
