Help save the Murray: Demand water entitlements now!
This is an urgent plea for our precious waterways. As you probably know, the once free-flowing River Murray, Australia's most important and iconic river, is dying. Internationally significant wetlands are at the point of collapse, priceless gum forests are dying, wetland birds have stopped breeding and the Murray Cod and other once-plentiful fish stocks are now threatened species.
Our campaign to protect the Murray, SA's lifeblood, is a difficult and ongoing challenge, yet we can't do it without your support. Please help save the Murray by making a donation today.
In previous years the Environment Protection Agency has warned: "If current levels of degradation continue, the quality of the River Murray water will become unsuitable for most uses, leading to serious, if not catastrophic, environmental social and economic consequences." Yet the Murray continues to be devastated by over-allocation upstream. Our Government has failed to adequately respond, so it is now up to us in the wider community to push for change.
Urgent action is required to stop the death of the Murray. State Government policies are taking shape now, which makes this is a critical time for advocacy: We need the State Government to buy 150 gigalitres of permanent annual water entitlements for the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth and to implement a long-term plan for these unique ecological assets.
Time is running out to rescue our river system, but it is not too late. You can act now by making a donation to our waterways campaign. Together you and I can keep the pressure on our State Government to make the health of the Murray a top priority and to take the necessary action.
Our River
In addition to donating, you can help our campaign by using this specially-drawn page (our thanks go out to artist John Edmeades) to hand-write or draw a message expressing how you feel about the Murray, Lower Lakes and Coorong. The Murray is part of the South Australian soul and weaves its way through the lives and memories of so many of us. We must remind the government just how precious the river system is to us South Aussie folk.
As part of our waterways campaign we will present your hand written stories, pictures and messages as a book, Our River, to the State Premier. Our River will show, in a way that cannot easily be ignored, just how much we care about our precious river system. So download a page, grab your pen - or crayons - and help us tell the story of the Murray.
Recent floods in NSW saw the SA Government negotiate an influx of floodwater into the Lower Lakes, providing some desperately-needed relief for our Lakes Alexandrina and Albert. But we mustn't let this lull us into a false sense of security. The floods simply highlight the need for the State Government to consider both drought and flood when planning river management.
Urgent action must be taken now. Please make a donation today and contribute to Our River so we can all keep fighting for a healthy flowing River Murray. Your donation, no matter how big or small, can make a difference.
Let's do whatever we can to stop the death of our precious river system for the benefit of all of the plant and animal life, all the intricate ecosystems, and all the human lives and that depend on this incomparable lifeline, both now and in the future.lesley
Thank you for your time and generous support.
Yours sincerely
Julie Pettett
CEO, Conservation Council of South Australia