It's official, conditions in the parched Murray-Darling Basin are the worst in recorded history and there is no relief in sight.
Australia's biggest river system is coming out of its fifth-driest winter in more than 115 years and the forecast is for more dry weather.
The Murray Darling Basin Commission's latest drought update, released today, paints a picture of the worst conditions since records began in 1892.
"We're continuing to establish new records that we don't particularly wish to establish," the commission's chief executive Wendy Craik said as she released the update.
"There's really no relief in sight. I think we can say the drought's continuing to worsen."
Water Minister Penny Wong said Australia needed to prepare for a worsening drought situation.
"The responsible thing to do is to prepare for a future where we are likely to see less rain in the southern part of Australia," she told ABC TV.
The basin, which stretches through Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia, is regarded as the nation's premier food production region.
Water inflows in the past two years were the lowest since records began, the commission said.
Water storages are just 20 per cent full at a time when they should contain three times that volume.
The drought has now stretched on for seven years and the Bureau of Meteorology says a new experimental way of forecasting the weather is tipping a dry spring.
The forecast is especially bad for South Australia's ailing lower lakes region, which is the Murray River's mouth. Hot weather is on the radar, which means more evaporation.
The commission's update also shows that while most basin states have slashed the amount of water they're taking out of the system, Queensland is taking out more.
NSW is taking out much less than normal, and Victoria has significantly cut its extractions, but Queensland's share of water extractions has increased massively.
There are glimmers of hope for the basin with meteorologists discounting the prospect of an El Nino weather pattern and the water level in the lower lakes rising in recent weeks.
They are now about 20cm below sea level due to local rainfall and reduced evaporation in winter.
This has delayed the process by which the lower lakes are turning to acid.
Dr Craik said there would be enough water for "critical human needs" until next winter, but there would be little water for irrigators and the environment unless it rained.
Senator Wong said there wasn't enough water in the river system to "do everything we want".
"We think it is important for people to understand what is the situation in the Murray-Darling Basin," she said.
"It confirms there are not easy options when it comes to Murray-Darling Basin, only hard choices.
"The first priority has to be the needs of Adelaide and the towns that rely on the Murray-Darling Basin rivers, particularly the River Murray."
The commission says it will take several wet years to get the basin back on track.
