The various rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin often run dry during the frequent droughts and then they flood when the drought breaks and the heavy rains fall. The history of floods in the Murray-Darling Basin show that they are crucial sources of water for people, animals and plants in this often dry region of inland Australia.
Once such flood event happened during the November 2022-February 2023 period to the heavily modified River Murray,. This was regulated by dams to canalize the river. This aimed to make the river into a channel to support water supply from dams to irrigation settlements by create a new, controllable river.
As a result of heavy rain and flood events interstate the 2022-23 flood event was the largest since 1956, and it was the third highest flood ever recorded in South Australia, with an unprecedented number of impacted homes, shacks, businesses and infrastructure.
Hugh numbers of baby carp were washed up on the beaches around the mouth of the Murray River in late January 2023. Carp are one of the worst introduced pest species in Australia and they the most dominant large-bodied fish in the Murray-Darling Basin making up to 80-90 per cent of fish biomass.
Nourishing Terrains 
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