Repairing Australia’s inland river and groundwater systems: nine priority actions, benefits and the finance gap

S. J. Capon; C. M. Steinfeld; J. Pittock; B. J. Moggridge; A. Ward; L. J. Baumgartner; F. Sheldon; M. Ward; D. L. Medaris

doi:10.1071/MF24160

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Contents Vol 76(4)

Repairing Australia’s inland river and groundwater systems: nine priority actions, benefits and the finance gap

S. J. Capon

^A ^* , C. M. Steinfeld ^B , J. Pittock

^C , B. J. Moggridge ^D , A. Ward ^E , L. J. Baumgartner ^F , F. Sheldon

^A , M. Ward ^G and D. L. Medaris ^H

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia.

^B Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

^C Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, Australia.

^D Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia.

^E Accounting for Nature, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

^F Gulbali Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia.

^G Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia.

^H Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: s.capon@griffith.edu.au

Handling Editor: Max Finlayson

Marine and Freshwater Research 76, MF24160 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF24160

Submitted: 15 July 2024 Accepted: 5 February 2025 Published: 6 March 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Inland river and groundwater systems in Australia, as elsewhere, have been heavily overexploited, modified and degraded and are subject to increasing pressures from anthropogenic activities and climate change. Here, we propose the following nine priority actions to repair these critical parts of our landscape not currently being implemented or not at a sufficient scale: (1) riparian revegetation, (2) incentivisation to retire riparian farmland, (3) water recovery to achieve sustainable levels of take in the Murray–Darling Basin, (4) restoration of riverine connectivity through constraints management, (5) removal or modification of fish barriers, (6) installation of cold-water pollution device on priority large dams, (7) installation of fish diversion screens on all irrigation pumps, (8) capping of open bores and conversion of open bore-drains remaining in the Great Artesian Basin and (9) restoration of groundwater extraction in the Murray–Darling Basin to a sustainable level of take. We estimate the scale and costs associated with each priority action and synthesise evidence demonstrating benefits. We discuss the importance of enabling and supporting regional communities, especially Indigenous nations, to implement these actions. To implement the priority actions outlined here at the scale indicated, our estimates suggest approximate annual investment from 2025 to 2054 of A$3.1 billion (2022 dollar values). Riparian revegetation across 14.4 × 10⁶ ha could sequester 1.6 × 10⁹ tonnes of CO₂, offsetting ~37% of Australia’s net emissions over the next 30 years by using high-integrity carbon methods. Revenue generated through the carbon market could cover between 37 and 72% of the costs, reducing investment needed to between A$0.9 billion and A$2.0 billion (2022 dollar values).

Keywords: environmental flows, fish passage, flow constraints, groundwater, in-stream barriers, nature repair, restoration, riparian, water resources management.

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