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Abstract
In October 2010, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) proposed that a
range of 3000–4000 GL per year, on average, of additional water be made available
for the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) to mitigate the
effects of what it considers to be inadequate environmental flows. To help quantify
the costs of this water reallocation, a hydro-economic model was constructed
based on the 19 regions of the MDB. The model results indicate the following: (i)
substantial reductions in surface water extractions of up to 4400 GL per year
impose only a moderate reduction on net profits in irrigated agriculture, Basin
wide, given competitive water markets, but the effects are much more pronounced
in particular regions/catchments and (ii) the costs of the water reallocation are
comparable with the amount budgeted by the Australian government to acquire
water from willing sellers and increase environmental flows if inter-regional water
trade is unrestricted.