The recently published results in the 200-page study reveal a lack of confidence in governance issues across the basin.
The qualitative survey brought together a range of opinions and beliefs from residents of the basin.
While many respondents reported optimism about the future of their communities and their general wellbeing, most indicated they did not agree with the value statements in the survey about water management.
Asked about water governance effectiveness, 49 per cent of people rated this as “low”. Those people surveyed in the southern basin were less likely to feel governance was effective.
The survey report, titled Basin Community Values, stated this about water managers working collaboratively:
“There is universally low confidence that the organisations responsible for water management in different jurisdictions work well together on water management issues.”
Irrigators in the southern basin (including northern Victoria) who were asked about the states working together on water management found this value was “unfulfilled” for 76 per cent of the respondents.
The responses for the survey, gathered in 2023, came from more than 6000 basin residents.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority partnered with the University of Canberra's Regional Wellbeing Survey to ask residents about their connection to water. The project was funded through the Basin Condition Monitoring Program.
The goal was to improve understanding of the drivers, timing and scale of change in basin communities as a result of water reform.
The report broke down the replies into different parts of the basin, as well as local government areas.
“Those living in Mildura, Swan Hill, Gannawarra and Buloke were less likely to feel their community has a bright future, reported poorer access to health services, were more likely to have visited basin nature areas in the last 12 months, but were less likely to feel able to easily communicate their views in water decision-making processes or to feel that rules about how people can access water for agriculture are fair,” the report said.
On the question of whether water was managed well in the basin to achieve positive outcomes for communities, only 14 per cent of respondents in Greater Shepparton and Moira Shire agreed.
And most people in these municipalities disagreed with the statement that water is shared fairly between different users and regions.
The Basin Community Values report is on the MDBA website at mdba.gov.au
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