World Water Day is celebrated and and in South Australia we know a thing or two about the scarcity of water. Many of us grew up watching TV ads telling us to turn off the tap. Water restrictions have become the norm, and we are all well aware of the growing number of record long, hot, dry spells in the summer. Then of course there is the alarming degradation of the Murray...

Our precious Murray River system has been suffering for years from over-allocation of water upstream and the devastating effects of reduced water flows. Our leaders have had a very long time now to find a solution, yet they have failed to do so. Conservation SA's ongoing campaign to save the Murray has become more urgent than ever. Please make a donation today so that we can intensify our work to safeguard of the health of the Murray at this critical time.

At Conservation SA we have spelled out our demands loud and clear: We want the State Government to buy 150 gigalitres of permanent annual water entitlements for the Murray system from irrigators upstream. This is what is needed - and needed now - to restore and maintain the fragile health of the Lower Lakes and Coorong.

In recent days, the Murray has been used as a political battleground as negations over the distribution of Eastern state floodwaters have come to the fore. Yet beyond the current floods we are yet to see adequate policy commitments from our State's decision makers to secure the future of our threatened river system.

Time is running out. If we don't act decisively in the coming months, finding a long-term solution to the Murray's problems may not be an option. Our State Government needs to step up and rescue the Murray, Lower Lakes and Coorong before it is too late.

At this time it is very important for us here at Conservation SA to ramp up our campaign to save the Murray. Your donation will help us keep the pressure on the State Government to make the health of the Murray a top priority. With you support we can do more to influence authorities, facilitate discussion, devise policy and represent the concerns of the River at every opportunity.

Our advocacy work depends on individuals like you deciding that something simply must be done to save the Murray and then putting their money where their mouth is. Please donate today to help us effect a shift in policy and secure the future of the Murray.

Our River

In addition to donating, you can help our campaign by using this specially-designed page to hand-write or draw a message expressing how you feel about the Murray, Lower Lakes and Coorong (our thanks go out to artist John Edmeades for his wonderful drawing). The Murray is part of the South Australian soul and weaves its way through the lives and memories of so many of us. We must remind the government just how precious the river system is to us South Aussie folk.

As part of our waterways campaign we plan to present your hand written stories, pictures and messages as a book, Our River, to the State Premier. Our River will show, in a way that cannot easily be ignored, just how much we care about our precious river system.

So grab your pen - or crayons - and help us tell the story of the Murray . Please return your contribution to Conservation SA, Level 1/157 Franklin St, Adelaide 5000; or scan your page and email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Let's do whatever we can to stop the death of our precious river system. Please donate and write a page for Our River. We must act now for the benefit of all of the plant and animal life, all the intricate ecosystems, and all the human lives that depend on this incomparable lifeline, both now and in the future.