---
title: "Infographic: A recent history of the Murray-Darling Basin"
description: From the River Murray Waters Agreement of 1914 to the modern Murray-Darling Basin Plan, here are the key developments in the recent history of the Murray-Darling Basin.
---

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# [Infographic: A recent history of the Murray-Darling Basin](https://www.awa.asn.au/resources/latest-news/environment/natural-environment/infographic-a-recent-history-of-the-murray-darling-basin)

 Written by [Water Source](https://www.awa.asn.au/resources/latest-news/author/admin) | Feb 1, 2019 6:17:57 AM

From the River Murray Waters Agreement of 1914 to the modern Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the recent South Australian Royal Commission, a lot has happened in the recent history of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Here are the key developments, along with some statistics you might not know.

[ DOWNLOAD THE INFOGRAPHIC](https://www.awa.asn.au/hubfs/Murray-Darling-Basin-Facts.pdf)

# 1914

The **River Murray Waters Agreement is reached**, setting out the shares of water available to each state.

# 1917

The **River Murray Commission is established** to oversee the agreement.

# 1992

The **Murray-Darling Basin Agreement is established**, superseding the River Murray Commission and taking a broader scope.

# 1997

The **Millennium Drought begins**.

# 2004

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agrees to the **National Water Initiative**, elevating the importance of sustainable use of water resources. The National Water Commission is established to implement it.

# 2008

The **Murray-Darling Basin Authority is formed**, replacing the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.

<https://www.awa.asn.au/hubfs/Murray-Darling-Basin-Facts.pdf>

# 2012

The **Murray-Darling Basin Plan is signed into law**, aiming to redress the over-allocation of water licences and return more water to the environment.

# 2013

New **water trading rules are announced**, aiming to reduce restrictions on trade, improve transparency and access to information and improve market confidence.

# 2014

The **Basin environmental watering strategy is published**, building on the Basin Plan, advising stakeholders of ways to plan and manage environmental watering at a Basin scale.

# 2015

Long-term **state environmental watering plans are established** to complement the Basin watering strategy.

# 2016

**Northern Basin review is released**, specifically assessing the existing Basin Plan recovery target of 390GL of water for the river systems of the Northern Basin. It details what a healthy river system needs and the effects of water recovery on communities and river health.

# 2017

The **adjustment of sustainable diversion limit (SDL) is determined**, setting constraints on how much water is used in the Basin so as to leave enough water for the environment. To provide flexibility, it includes a mechanism to adjust SDL if outcomes can be reached with less water.

# 2019

**All state water resource plans to be revised** to support the development of their water resource plans and ensure they can be accredited on time.

# 2020

In addition to releasing a five-yearly report on the effectiveness of the Basin Plan, the **MDBA expects to conduct a five-yearly review** of the environmental watering plan, water quality and salinity targets.

# 2024

The **proposed time for the completion of agreed constraints measures** and the completion of supply and efficiency measures for the SDL adjustment outlined in 2017.

For more on the Murray-Darling Basin, click [here](http://54.252.223.120/tag/murray-darling-basin/).

[View full post](https://www.awa.asn.au/resources/latest-news/environment/natural-environment/infographic-a-recent-history-of-the-murray-darling-basin)

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