EXCLUSIVE: THE science behind the Murray Darling Basin Plan is based on the work of three South Australian researchers who altered their past findings to back the claim the state’s Lake Alexandrina has been fresh for the past 7000 years.
In a crucial 22-page 2009 report to the South Australian Government, the Adelaide researchers stated: “There is no evidence in the 7000-year record of substantial marine incursions into Lake Alexandrina”.
The 2009 report, which was not peer-reviewed, formed the foundation of the South Australian Government’s argument the lake must be kept fresh, which was eventually enshrined as a key objective of the 2012 Murray Darling Basin Plan — to always keep salinity in the lake at less than 1500EC (seawater is about 50,000EC).
More than 1.74 million megalitres has been flushed down the Murray River over the past 12 months to help keep the massive 64,900ha Lake Alexandrina brimming with fresh water, frustrating many upstream irrigators.
Yet the basis for keeping the lake fresh is based on University of Adelaide researchers Jennie Fluin, her husband John Tibby and Deborah Haynes’ 2009 report, which altered their original 2007 research findings, diminishing the impact of seawater on the lake.