THE recent Queensland rains will test how the Murray-Darling Basin Authority manages water as it prepares to take control of one of the system's largest water storage sites for the first time in seven years.
A spokesman for the authority said yesterday it expected to take control of the Menindee Lakes from the NSW government within about a month, as the Queensland floodwaters head south.
But according to The Australian Financial Review, the authority is unlikely to immediately decide on divvying up the water between states, instead allowing the storage sites to build up.
The use of the lakes for water storage is controversial because they are vast and shallow and prone to evaporation. However, evaporation is less of a problem now than at the height of summer.
"We are ready to take over and expect to do so around mid-April. From that point on ,the authority will continue to hold water in the Menindee Lakes until flow patterns and volumes become clearer," the authority's spokesman said.
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