'Extreme' water crisis plan under fire

Emergency measures to secure water supplies in drought-ravaged south-eastern Australia by banning external watering in some towns, creating a temporary weir on the Murray and draining wetlands could be enforced this year.

A contingency plan, jointly released yesterday by the federal, Victorian and South Australian governments, seeks to urgently address water shortages for towns and cities in the parched region.

They include Adelaide, which draws up to 90 per cent of its supplies from the Murray River, and Victorian towns including Kerang, Swan Hill, Mildura, Echuca, Yarrawonga and Wodonga.

Blanket stage 4 water restrictions for all towns supplied by the Murray and a review of the Snowy Hydro electricity scheme are also proposed in the plan, which is yet to be endorsed by the NSW Government.

Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile said yesterday there were "severe concerns" about the lower Murray-Darling Basin system's ability to supply water.

"There are over two and a half million people in that part of Australia who could be adversely affected," he said.

from The Age