| Pollution | 
| What is Pollution? Pollution is the contamination or tainting of the natural state of something to make it unclean or impure.
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What pollutes the River Murray?
The main pollution threats to the River Murray are excess amounts of substances that occur naturally in the river eg salt and clay particles. Also run-off of nutrients from fertalisers,detergents and sewage.
Other pollutants include, stormwater run-off which collects pollutants and washes them into the river and also ilegal dumping of litter and green waste.
<Back to Top...> How does pollution in the River Murray affect us? Pollution decrease the use to which water from the River Murray can be put and it increases the cost of that water. (eg water filtration has to be improved and becomes more costly).
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What is being done?
There plenty that can be done and is being done to reduce pollution. Increases in salt are being tackled by improving irrigation efficiency, replanting and protecting native vegetation and intercepting salty underground and drainage water etc.
Nutrients in the River are being reduced by more careful use of fertalisers and detergents and diverting run-off away from main channels into wetands that act as natural water filters.
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Information
Information Sheets
Murray-Darling Association
What's What about Pollution and the River Murray, Fact Sheet 3, 1997.
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