We’re excited to see our work featured as part of the evidence base for the 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation released on 24 July 2025 by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).
Our economist David Appels was engaged by the MDBA to assess the economic benefits of salinity management, alongside a review of salinity cost functions. These insights help to quantify the enduring value of collaborative efforts under the Basin Salinity Management 2030 strategy.
- After updating the patterns of water use to reflect the current situation, we found that Basin salinity management provides an economic benefit to water users in the order of $126m annually, due to significant reductions in river salinity levels (as measured by electrical conductivity) attributable to these management actions.
- This estimate comprises benefits attributable to the collective actions of the Joint Program ($90.2m/yr) and significant additional benefits from the Basin Plan ($35.9m/yr).
- Looking forward, the expected net present value (NPV) over 30 years of salinity intervention is in the order of $1.6b for all actions Basin salinity management.Our analysis supports a better understanding of how salinity interventions benefit agriculture, communities and ecosystems – and provides an important economic foundation for future policy and investment decisions across the Basin.Read the full 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation Report here.
Explore our expert reports on the MDBA website:
