Loxton
The Loxton Hub incorporates one of the most agriculturally productive and ecologically diverse areas of South Australia.
Incorporating the Riverland and Lower Murray regions in South Australia, the Loxton Hub provides local communities, businesses, industry and governments the opportunity to understand key vulnerabilities of the region, and supports the community to identify targeted solutions for the effective adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
This region plays host to a crucial corridor that underpins the availability of good-quality water to many parts of the South Australia. The hub is primarily focusing on the adaptation of communities and the agricultural sector to reduced water availability and increased temperature extremes.
Loxton projects
View AllThis project will undertake foundational activities to improve insight into the nature and scale of the opportunity associated with brackish groundwater, identify pathways to enable diversification of irrigated water sources, and assess any potential negative consequences and associated mitigating measures.
Read MoreWater futures
Loxton updates
View allWhere we are
The Loxton Hub is located at the Loxton Research Centre, in South Australia. The centre is a showcase for the lower basin region, supporting and promoting its global reputation as a leader in agriculture and producer of premium food and wine. Its shared working environment, between research and industry, facilitates the transfer of new knowledge into industry and the development of new innovative opportunities.
Related information
Contact Loxton Hub>
If you have a question, enquiry or are interested in getting involved with the One Basin CRC’s Loxton projects, get in touch with the Loxton Hub.
About the One Basin CRC>
We are fostering the collaboration between researchers and industry to address significant scientific and technological challenges for the Murray–Darling Basin.
About
The Loxton Hub incorporates one of the most agriculturally productive and ecologically diverse areas of South Australia.
The hub provides the opportunity for local communities, business, industries and governments to understand key vulnerabilities of the region in detail, offering information and knowledge to support the community to identify targeted solutions for effective adaptation to the impacts of climate change. In particular, the Loxton Hub focuses on the adaptation of communities and the agricultural sector to reduced water availability and increased temperature extremes.
About the region
For the One Basin CRC, this region plays host to a crucial corridor that underpins the availability of secure and good-quality water to many parts of South Australia.
The Loxton Regional Hub incorporates the Riverland and Lower Murray regions in South Australia.
The area is vulnerable to climate change due to the dependence on irrigation and agriculture for the economy — being located at the downstream end of the Murray-Darling Basin — and its already hot, dry local climate with limited local water sources.
Council areas
The Loxton Hub covers seven council areas, all with high social, economic and environmental dependence on the Murray–Darling Basin water resources. They include:
- Renmark-Paringa
- Loxton-Waikerie
- Mid Murray
- Karoonda-East Murray
- Murray Bridge
- Coorong
- Alexandrina.
Regional economy
The region contributes around $3.91 billion to the Australian economy. Agriculture is the dominant employment industry, providing jobs for the local community and supporting thriving towns and communities across the region. The main agricultural activities include:
- Viticulture
- Almonds
- Stone fruit
- Citrus
- Vegetables (in particular potatoes)
- Fisheries.
Tourism also plays a valuable role for the economy, attracting visitors to both natural assets and local producers — including the many local wineries and distilleries that call the region home.
Social and cultural value
More broadly, the basin is essential for the social wellbeing of local and surrounding communities, providing important areas for recreation (including recreational fishing and boating) and critical cultural value for Indigenous communities.
Cross-border collaboration
The Loxton Hub works collaboratively with all the One Basin CRC regional hubs; however, Loxton works particularly closely with the Mildura Hub on shared cross-border issues and solutions. This includes issues and solutions related to viticulture, almonds and citrus industries which are important to both areas.
This collaboration is an important mechanism for overcoming cross-border barriers related to climate adaptation of communities and lead to shared learning by these communities.
Projects
Cyanobacteria toxin uptake in food crops and implications to human...
This project will support sustainable agriculture by exploring toxic cyanobacteria and the health posed when they accumulate in food crops via the use of recycled water for irrigation.
Read MoreThis project will estimate the climate change impacts on irrigation water demand across the Murray–Darling Basin to help stakeholders adapt, and to pinpoint the areas with the highest agricultural potential and those most vulnerable to future water shortages.
Read MoreThis project is focused on the discovery and promotion of new opportunities to utilise meaningful incentives and finance through private investment markets to support basin landholder to adopt sustainable practices.
Read MoreThis pioneering initiative aims to implement water banking – a strategic method involving managed aquifer recharge to store water underground during times of surplus and extract it during deficits.
Read MoreLoxton team
The background, experience and expertise of our people is critical to our success as we nurture the next generation of scientists and leaders in the basin. Our Loxton hub team is led by Kym Walton, who grew up in the Riverland, and brings over 23 years experience in the water and irrigation industry to the One Basin CRC.
Kym Walton
Director, Regional Hubs & Loxton Hub Manager, One Basin CRC
Shahin Solgi
PhD Student, One Basin CRC
Contact us
Location
Loxton Research Centre
Bookpurnong Rd, Loxton SA 5333
Kym Walton
Director, Regional Hubs & Loxton Hub Manager, One Basin CRC
If you have a question, enquiry or are interested in getting involved with the One Basin CRC’s Loxton projects, you can contact our regional hub lead Kym Walton via the enquiry form below.