THE persistence and severity of the drought in the Murray-Darling Basin has been described as "unprecedented" after late summer inflows to the river system fell to a 117-year low. The "bleak'' outlook for next three months was adding to the grim news, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority said. Irrigation water for Australia's food bowl will be dependent almost entirely on rainfall as basin states hold back water for critical human needs. "The persistence and severity of this drought, particularly over the past three years, is unprecedented,'' authority chief executive Rob Freeman said as he delivered the basin's latest drought update.
The river system had lower water levels 60 years ago
The water is at a 117 year low, so the levels 60 years ago must have been higher
( z1 have :ARG0 ( z2 system :mod ( z3 river ) ) :ARG1 ( z4 level :cxnsistof ( z5 water ) :ARG1-of ( z6 have-degree :ARG2 ( z7 low :ARG1 z4 ) :ARG3 ( z8 more ) ) ) :time ( z9 before :op ( z10 now ) :quant ( z11 temporal-quantity :quant 60 :unit ( z12 year ) ) ) )