Australian Natural Resources Atlas

Natural Resource Topics

Water resources - Overview - Queensland


Location map of SWMA Murray River (Qld)

Basin & Surface Water Management Area: Murray River (Qld)

Introduction

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The Murray SWMA has a catchment area of about 1107 sq km and is located in North Queensland. Its main river, the Murray River, originates in the Cardwell range near Mr Hosier (EL 929 m) and flows through tropical rainforest to the coastal plains. The mean annual rainfall for the 50 year period 1920 to 1969 varies between varies between 2400 and 2800 mm. The main water use is for sugar cane.

Vital Statistics:

Area: 1,107 Km2
Total storage volume: no data
Total surface water use: 1,493 ML/yr
Development category: LOW DEVELOPMENT
Mean annual run-off: 1,314,000 ML/yr

A four-class classification system was developed to provide a simple method to communicate the status of the use and allocation of Australia's water resources in relation to sustainable water management.

It is important to recognise that adequately quantifying a sustainable flow regime or sustainable yield and consequent operating rules is a complex matter. State, Territory and scientific agencies continue to develop and apply methods and measures for determining sustainable flow regimes and sustainable yields.

This categorisation provides a general guide only. Please refer to the State and Territory Overview and Technical reports for detail on the analysis methods used.

CategoryDevelopment status
1<30% Low development
230 - 70% Moderate development
370 - 100% Highly developed
4100% Overdeveloped

* Water use as a percentage of sustainable flow regime (surface water) and sustainable yield (groundwater)

PLEASE NOTE:

Sustainable Yield:

No sustainable yield studies are available for this SWMA.

PLEASE NOTE:

Categorisation:

No sustainable yield studies are available for this SWMA.

There is a low level of development in this SWMA and no major storages.

How saline are the surface water resources in the Murray River (Qld) surface water management area?

No data were available about the salinity of surface water resources in the Basin / SWMA for the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000.

Major water storages

Table: Major water storage areas:

There were no major water storages reported in this area as part of the assessment

Further Information

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