The Murray-Darling Basin is one of Australia’s largest and most complex river systems. At the Murray Darling Basin Authority our role is to work with the basin states to manage the Murray–Darling Basin’s water resources in the national interest. We deliver this through a strong asset management approach and through collaboration with the State Constructing Authorities to ensure that investment is prioritised across the basin to deliver future proof outcomes. Our joint responsibility includes the management of 2 large dams, as well as numerous locks, weirs and regulators along the River Murray from Hume Dam located at Albury NSW to the Murray Mouth Barrages located near Goolwa in South Australia.
These assets contribute to the delivery of 40% of Australia’s agricultural produce, annual tourism earning of around $15 billion each year, and support 2.4 million people and 16 internationally significant wetlands.
The two large dams jointly managed by the MDBA are Hume and Dartmouth dams. At 180 metres high Dartmouth Dam is the highest dam of its kind in Australia. Hume and Dartmouth have a capacity of 2982GL and 3856GL respectively at full supply level.