'Murray Darling Basin Plan buybacks could be avoided by 1000GL of projects'

This week, federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek flagged the government's intention to extend the Murray-Darling Basin Plan's deadline, which is 12 months away, to give water saving infrastructure more time to develop.

She's also called for the public to put forward alternative options to save water, in a bid to keep large-scale water buybacks as a last resort.

National Farmers' Federation water committee chair Malcolm Holm said with the options tabled by the ag sector, the plan could be delivered without resorting to buybacks.

READ MORE: Minister questions if basin plan can be delivered, extension looms

"We've proven the point by putting 1000GL of potential projects on the table," Mr Holm said.

"Until these have received serious assessment, it would be senseless to consider buybacks."

The NFF, along with NSW Farmers, Ricegrowers Association and Victorian Farmers' Federation, says there are hundreds of gigalitres that have already been saved, but the Commonwealth has yet add them into its calculations.

Broken Hill's new pipeline, which moves the city's water supply from the Menindee Lakes to the Murray River, could already be saving 420GL a year.

Previously, the shallow lakes were required to hold at least a year's worth of water for Broken Hill, leading to massive evaporation losses.

An assessment by the NSW government estimated decoupling Broken Hill's water supply from the lakes had the potential to save 420GL in water evaporation annually.

READ MORE: What Murray-Darling Basin Plain 2024 deadline means for farm water

The Victorian government has put forward a business case arguing its management of the Murray River has drastically improved since the Millennium drought. Losses have reduced significantly, which it estimated to offset 110GL.

Murray Irrigation has a proposal to use its irrigation to deliver water to more than 12,000-square-kilometres of floodplain ecosystems, delivering an ecological benefit of up to 600GL.

The first three stages have already been funded and constructed. The last two stages, which deliver the bulk of the benefit, need $200m and two years to complete.

The agriculture sector also urged the government to think outside the box, and investigate projects such as underground water banks and fish ladder upgrades.

Mr Holm said the logical next step would be to consult landholders and communities about the project options.

"We're demonstrating here that we're willing to work with government to deliver the Plan the smart way, rather than thumping communities with more buybacks," Mr Holm said.