MURRAY Darling Basin water ministers have agreed on a worst-case-scenario plan of action to save South Australia's Lower Lakes from becoming more acidic.
The plan includes pumping sea water into the freshwater lakes to stop the spread of acid sulphate soil.
But that environmentally-radical action won't be taken before February 2010 .. and only if the basin encounters another dry winter.
Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said data, provided to a meeting of ministers in Canberra, showed inflows to the Murray River were trending down to historic lows.
"The advice provided by the (Murray Darling Basin) commission is that on the basis of the weather predictions, the inflow projections (are) close to the worst-case scenario," she said.
"We were advised on current predictions and under a worst-case scenario, the Lower Lakes are now unlikely to reach the acidification threshold by February 2010."
The commission had provided ministers with a strategy to avoid acidification of the lower lakes, Senator Wong said.
The primary objective was to prevent irreversible damage to the lakes.
"It is a strategy that puts in place a range of monitoring measures, a range of pumping measures.
"It does contemplate, as a last resort, the introduction of sea water if that was necessary."
South Australia has agreed to initiate the appropriate legal requirements by making an application to the commonwealth, ahead of February 2010, for permission to flood the lakes with sea water.
Senator Wong refused to say whether the commonwealth had given up on the lower lakes.
But SA's River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald was adamant when asked the same question: "Certainly, the nation and South Australia, in particular, has not given up on the lower lakes.
"What we have agreed on today is strategy, a real-time management strategy, to address issues that may emerge if a worst-case scenario continues."
The Commonwealth will provide $10 million for the strategy.
AAP