Water plan details next month

The draft Murray-Darling Basin Authority plan became a political football during the federal election, with Opposition calls for it to be immediately released.

The Authority yesterday revealed it would release a "guide" to the so-far secret plan on October 8 for public consultation.

The document will include proposed water cuts, estimates of the volume of water needed for the health of the river, minimum amounts needed for critical human water needs and water quality and salinity targets.

Detailed guides for each of the basin's 19 catchments - including one covering the Murray mouth and Riverland in SA - will be released.

Governments and user groups will be asked for submissions before the plan is finalised and submitted to the federal water minister next year.

Labor committed during the recent federal campaign to buy back all water as recommended by the plan to restore environmental flows.

The respected Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists has estimated the cost at an additional $4.7 billion.

The draft plan was due to be released in July but the Authority announced it would instead release a guide to the plan. In a statement yesterday, it said it had been improving work on social and economic elements of the guide.

"The authority understands the keen desire of communities, environmental groups and irrigators to see the proposals as soon as possible but believes it is important the proposals be based on the most comprehensive knowledge possible," it said.