For millions the water will stop midyear!
JOHN HOWARD has urged everyone to pray for rain after warning that the millions of people along the Murray-Darling Basin will have only enough water for basic domestic use from the middle of the year.
The Murray-Darling Basin is the country's food bowl, and irrigators and winemakers warn that food and wine prices will soar, while economists fear heavy local job losses.
The Prime Minister said yesterday that unless there is substantial rain within a month, there would be no water allocations for irrigation or environmental flows from July 1. "We should all pray for rain," he said.
The looming catastrophe will directly affect the 50,000 farmers who depend on the river system for their livelihoods as well as the millions in Adelaide and the numerous towns along the basin, which stretches from southern Queensland to South Australia. read the rest
