After almost four decades working in this area, John was able to provide a clear, but stark, outline of the challenges being faced by Adelaide, as well as the state.

Many interstate attendees were surprised that Adelaide relies almost totally (95 per cent) on the Murray River for its water supplies and has traditionally lower storage levels than other major Australian cities. Clearly the extended drought is proving to be a major threat to South Australia’s water supplies.

In order to make Adelaide independent of the Murray for its water the state is considering construction of a desalination plant. The state is also considering increasing water storage facilities in the nearby Mt Lofty Ranges, even though this investment would rely on further rainfall.

The challenges include the need to maintain 900 GL flow to South Australia in order to keep salinity within drinkable limits, but under a worst-case inflow scenario only 696 GL would be available. Waters are currently so low that new pumping stations have been constructed lower down slopes in order to pump water up to the traditional pumping stations. As well as causing increasing salinity in Adelaide’s water, the deteriorating water levels in the Murray have also lead to increasing occurrence of blue-green algal blooms.