The Murray Irrigation Area is geographically located within the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

area of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, 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. The town is situated on Lake Mulwala, an artificial lake formed by the damming of the Murray ...

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: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

. 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 acros ...

, flowing from

Lake Mulwala Lake Mulwala, a manmade 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 weir ...

. Water supply is provided by

Murray Irrigation Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

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 State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. 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 (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically 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 a ...

where the Mulwala Canal flows under the

Edward River Edward River, or Kyalite River, 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, a ...

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, th ...

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 Riverina region of 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 intersection of the Riverina ...

and

Jerilderie Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. At th Jerilderie had a population of 922 people. It can be found along the Newell Highway ...

. 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