THE River Murray Levy will remain in place despite South Australia receiving more than $600 million from Canberra to save the river.
The Adelaide Advertiser says water Security Minister Karlene Maywald has ruled out any changes to the levy in a letter to independent MP Bob Such.
Dr Such had written to Ms Maywald expressing concerns on behalf of constituents who believed they should no longer pay the levy.
In July, Premier Mike Rann announced after a Council of Australian Governments meeting that SA had secured $610 million that could result in savings of more than 100 gigalitres of water in the Murray-Darling Basin.
The levy, introduced in 2003, has raised about $56 million.
Residential property owners pay $8.20 a quarter for the levy, with commercial and non-residential owners paying $36.95 a quarter.
The levy raised $21.1 million in 2006-07 with $15.8 million spent on 22 projects, including acquiring water for environmental flows, salinity management, securing water rights and environmental protection.
For the full report visit The Adelaide Adverstiser
