The Murray Irrigation Area is geographically located within the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

area of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, between

Mulwala Mulwala (locally , elsewhere also ) is a town in the Federation Council local government area in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on Lake Mulwala, an artificial lake formed by the damming of the Murray River, it fo ...

and

Moulamein Moulamein is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. At the , Moulamein had a population of 484 . Moulamein is the oldest town in the Riverina. The town is located between Balranald, Hay, ...

. It was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production. The main river system feeding and fed by the area is the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...

. Much of the water is supplied via the

Mulwala Canal The Mulwala Canal is an irrigation canal in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest irrigation canal in the Southern Hemisphere. The canal, starting at Lake Mulwala, diverts water from the Murray River acro ...

, flowing from

Lake Mulwala Lake Mulwala, a man-made reservoir created through the construction of the Yarrawonga Weir across the Murray River, is located between and in Hume region of Victoria and in the Riverina region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The w ...

. Water supply is provided by Murray Irrigation Limited, a company formed by the New South Wales government in 1995. Murray Irrigation purchases water directly from the New South Wales State Water Corporation. The system is regarded as a major engineering achievement comprising an elaborate series of weirs, canals and holding ponds (fed by upstream rivers and dams), including the large Lawson

syphon A siphon (; also spelled syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in an inverted "U" shape, which causes a liquid to flow upward, abo ...

where the Mulwala Canal flows under the

Edward River Edward River, or Kolety is an anabranch of the Murray River and part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The river rises at Picnic Point east of Mathoura, as a r ...

Anabranch An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, ...

es of the Murray including the Edward River and the

Wakool River Wakool River, an anabranch of the Edward River that is part of the Murray River catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. The Wakool River splits from th ...

are also managed to provide irrigation water to irrigators along those waterways. Managed flow along those waterways bears little correlation to natural flow regimes, with peak flows occurring during peak irrigation demand (summer) rather than during peak runoff (early spring). Irrigated agriculture is the main industry of the towns within the area which include Finley,

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

and

Jerilderie Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Council Local government areas of New South Wales, Local Government Area. At the , Jerilderie had a pop ...

. The irrigation area has become increasingly controversial in the early 21st century, after consecutive years of drought and a growing Australian population have led to demands for greater levels of water conservation.

References

Riverina Regions of New South Wales Murray River Irrigation in Australia {{NewSouthWales-river-stub